The effects of sociodemographic variables on the economic behaviour of poorer households in the US and Kenya: a cross-national analyses

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the economic behaviour of 383 lower-income households in Kenya and the US. Using a two-group confirmatory factor analysis, a moderation effect of gender on financial capability by age was found in the US group. Measurement and structural equivalence across groups were established. Specifically, younger females indicated higher levels of financial capability than younger males, while older males reported higher levels of financial capability than older females. There was no such effect among Kenyan participants. Findings point to the need for considering the sociodemographic characteristics of these households in programmes that enhance their financial capability.

KEYWORDS:

• Kenya
• US
• poorer households
• financial capability
• invariance testing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr David Okech is Associate Professor and Director of the Africa Programming and Research to End Slavery at the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Social Work, Athens, in the USA. His research centres on the intersection of poverty and exploitations like human trafficking in lower-resourced countries. He has worked with NGOs in Africa and has served as Director of Global Engagement and Director of the MSW programme at the UGA School of Social Work.

Dr Rebecca Matthew is Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia School of Social Work, Athens, in the USA. Her research examines the institutions, models and practices that foster healthy and equitable communities. Calling upon methodologically and theoretically diverse approaches and perspectives, her efforts have focused in four areas: caring labour, safe and affordable housing, youth development, and access to healthcare and social services. Feminist theory and qualitative research frame her exploration of the ways in which worker-owned cooperatives can (and do) prioritise quality services and dignified labour conditions among care providers, disproportionally low-income and women of colour.

Dr Waylon J. Howard is an independent statistician. His work includes multivariate approaches to measurement and analysis of substantive problems where he has led simulation-based research and contributed to recommendations for applied researchers. In addition, Dr Waylon has conducted substantive research using structural equation modelling techniques as a general data analytic approach to studying individual, developmental, and socio-contextual differences within the social, behavioural, and health sciences. He has extensive grant experience in relation to study design, statistical analytic plans and power analyses.

Dr Gregory Purser’s research examines the effects of substance use and mental health issues across the life course, with a specific focus on substance use in older age. He also examines the effects of substance use on housing, drawing from his years spent as a programme coordinator of a homeless employment programme.

Notes

1 Sociodemographic moderation variables were included but not conditioned on the latent variables.

2 The number of dependents and financial education variables were not included due to estimation failure related to inadequate covariance coverage (see Table 1).