Financial Behavior of the Poor: A Case of Tea Growers and Pickers in Western Uganda

Finding ways of helping the poor access financing and means to save and transfer money has been a preoccupation of many behavioural economists and researchers for many years. Understanding the financial behavior of the poor is therefore a crucial step towards finding ways of helping them to access cheaper financing and ways to save. This paper studies savings and money-transfer behaviours of small holder tea farmers and tea pickers in western Uganda. Recent works (especially from field experiments) on financial behviours of the poor are also explored. The paper concludes by stating that prospect theory is best placed to explain and predict savings behaviour of rural people.