Financial behavior of the population of the Republic of Kalmykia: an economic and statistical analysis

Introduction. The large-scale work to improve the financial literacy of the population of Russia, initiated by the leadership of the country in 2011, has enhanced the developments aimed at studying the peculiarities of the financial behavior of the population of individual regions. The purpose of the study is to resolve the contradiction between the irrational financial behavior of people living in the Republic of Kalmykia, described by scientists and journalists, and the results of a nationwide sociological study, according to which Kalmykia is among the regions with a high level of financial literacy. Materials and Methods. The results of the nationwide sociological study 'Financial Literacy Ranking of the Regions of Russia 2018' and the official statistics from the websites of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) and the Bank of Russia formed the information base of the conducted study. In terms of methods, tools for time series analysis were used. Results. A detailed analysis of the statistical data describing the financial behavior of the population of the Republic of Kalmykia has been performed, namely: per capita income of the population, the volume of loans granted to individuals, the share of overdue loans and the volume of deposits made by individuals. A negative ratio has been revealed between the value of loans provided to individuals in the region and the volume of deposits made by them. A conclusion has been drawn that it is necessary to study the reasons for such irrational financial behavior of the population of the Republic of Kalmykia and to develop effective measures to improve financial literacy. Discussion and Conclusion. The irrationality of the financial behavior of the population of the Republic of Kalmykia has been objectively confirmed by the dynamics of statistical indicators characterizing the levels of the loan debts and savings. At the same time, an analysis of financial literacy ranking results has shown that the Republic of Kalmykia received a high ranking due to a higher level of use of the Internet banking services and plastic cards, however, a low level of savings activity and a high level of trust in banks in the Republic of Kalmykia have also been confirmed. The results obtained can be used in the development of financial education programs for residents of various regions with similar problems.