Letters in Economic Research Updates
The Relationship between Individual Religiosity and Islamic Financial Literacy in Explaining Household Saving Behavior: A Field Study in Yemen
Abstract
Ramzi Abdullah Ahmed Hassan
This study examines the relationship between individual religiosity and Islamic financial literacy in explaining household saving behavior, with a particular focus on testing the moderating role of individual religiosity in the relationship between Islamic financial literacy and saving behavior. A quantitative, descriptive-analytical design was adopted, using a structured questionnaire as the primary data-collection instrument administered to a convenience sample of 500 respondents in the Republic of Yemen, comprising 200 university students, 100 female private-sector employees, and 200 public- sector employees. As this version of the manuscript was prepared to illustrate the intended analytical procedure, the results reported below are based on simulated data generated under realistic distributional assumptions, analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, moderated multiple regression, one-way ANOVA, and independent-samples t-tests. The illustrative analysis supported all main hypotheses: Islamic financial literacy and individual religiosity each significantly and positively predicted saving behavior, and religiosity significantly strengthened (moderated) the positive relationship between Islamic financial literacy and saving behavior. Saving behavior differed significantly across occupational groups but did not differ significantly by gender. The study recommends replicating this design with genuine field data prior to drawing any substantive conclusions or policy implications.