Abstract
This research study hypothesizes that lack of financial literacy, irregular and insufficient income, high transportation cost and excessive social capital (financial access) constraints the efficiency of a household's portfolio. Various geometric representation of portfolio theory exhibits the impact financial access has upon the optimal portfolio. Especially, in the case of low-income households, along with the financial access constraints there exists other exogenous factor that makes their portfolio risky. Thus there is a stronger need to provide a secure portfolio that can battle the variance in income and unforeseen circumstances. Via empirical analysis of financial diaries of households in South Africa, we find that education level; belonging to male gender and transportation cost have significant impacts on the household's portfolio allocation.
Advisor
Warner, James
Second Advisor
Pasteur, R. Drew
Department
Mathematics; Economics
Recommended Citation
Saraogi, Prachi, "Impact of Financial Access on the Efficiency of a Portfolio: a Geometric Dissection of the Portfolio Theory & Empirical Analysis of the Financial Diaries of Low-Income Households in South Africa" (2011). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 930.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/930
Disciplines
Applied Mathematics
Keywords
financial access, portfolio theory
Publication Date
2011
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2011 Prachi Saraogi