Antecedents of saving behaviour among the black middle class in South Africa

Abstract

This paper determined the antecedents to saving behaviour of South AfricaÕs black middle class. South AfricaÕs household saving rates are lower than its emerging market peers. Stimulating domestic savings is crucial for the countryÕs macroeconomic stability. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is the theoretical framework employed in this research. The black middle class constitutes a significant portion of South AfricaÕs middle class population. Thus, encouraging saving in this social class is likely to improve South AfricaÕs saving statistics. This paper also examined whether conspicuous consumption has become a social norm among the black middle class in South Africa and its influence on saving behaviour. To conduct the research, an online questionnaire was distributed using convenience and snowball sampling. One-hundred and seventy-one responses were valid and analysed. Structural Equation Modelling was applied to these responses to test the hypotheses. This research found that attitude and perceived behavioural control had a positive impact on intention to save. While social norm and conspicuous consumption had no impact and there was a negative intention to save. The research suggests that policy-makers and financial institutions should focus on building a positive social norm towards saving among the black middle class in South Africa.