The Relationship Between Working Youth Characteristics and Financial Capability

There is a widespread interest in raising the levels of financial capability due to the soaring of indebtness among youth in both developed and developing countries. The issue is even more critical among working youth due to their early career life financial commitments. Thus this paper aims to shed light on the level of financial capability among working youth and the relationships between working youth characteristics and financial capability. A questionnaire survey was disseminated to 500 Malaysian working youth between 18 to 40 years old. Based on the 200 completed responses the study reveals that there is an adequate level of financial capability among respondents. Marital status, age, level of income, employment status, living arrangement, number of credit card and financial behavior are found to have significant relationships with financial capability. A further test shows that youth financial literacy and saving behavior have significant effects on financial capability. This study contributes new empirical evidence on the level of financial capability and the association between working youth characteristics and financial capability. As such this study provides some interesting clues to financial capability among working youth.