Title: Financial literacy in a Buddhist monastic setting - evidence from a field study

Authors: Andreas Hecht

Addresses: Institute for Financial Management, Department of Banking, Finance, Insurance, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Gertrudstrasse 8, CH-8401 Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland

Abstract: Financial education can contribute to more sustainable societies and the United Nation's sustainable development goals, with international organisations striving not to exclude any group from measures to enhance financial literacy. But is financial knowledge even relevant in a monastic context? This paper explores this question and provides unprecedented insights into the financial literacy of monks in two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries with remarkable differences in their curricula. It becomes evident that monks are not completely isolated from the realities around them but are increasingly engaging in (digital) financial transactions. The unique evidence shows that financial issues play a role in the lives of monks, with the results regarding the level of financial literacy comparing favourably to the underlying reference study of the Standard & Poor's Global Financial Literacy Survey.

Keywords: financial literacy; financial education; sustainability; sustainable development goal; SDG; monastery; monks; mathematics; social finance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEED.2024.141929

International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 2024 Vol.15 No.4, pp.547 - 558

Received: 24 Aug 2023
Accepted: 18 Oct 2023
Published online: 03 Oct 2024 *

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