Does Qualification count for Managing Financial Products and Services? A Study of identified Blocks in Bhutan

Abstract

This paper explores managing financial products and services by Bhutanese in some of the identified blocks (Gewogs) in Bhutan. It investigates various skills of managing financial products and services primarily on four financial management dimensions namely, Perception of General Financial Knowledge (PGFK), Perception of Savings and Borrowings (PSB), Perception of Insurance Planning (PIP) and Perception of Making Investment (PMI). The research is based on the baseline data collected from the respondents. Data were collected with the help of structured schedule. A total of 537 respondents were included from two blocks of Chukha district (rural) Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan (urban). The data were analysed and interpreted based on qualifications of the respondents. Mean and standard deviation were used to describe the characteristics of the data. In addition, ANOVA was used to test the research hypotheses. The inferences of the study reveal current scenario of managing financial products and services among the Bhutanese. It portrays cases that people with higher education level obtained higher financial skills in almost all the dimensions (except that of PMI). The post-hoc tests, however, do not support research hypotheses in the study. The study is purely based on primary data and is expected to have some positive bearing on the key stakeholders of the country including that of policy framing agencies. Besides, the study may be taken as a case teaching material and may act as significant supplementary reference in the classroom teaching.