Children and the Financial Regulatory Landscape in Latin America
The series Working Papers on Economics is published by the Office for Economic Studies at the Banco de la República (Central Bank of Colombia). The works published are provisional, and their authors are fully responsible for the opinions expressed in them, as well as for possible mistakes. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Banco de la República or its Board of Directors.
Inglés: In spite of the increasing evidence that has revealed that early access to financial services has long-term impacts, children and adolescents continue to face major obstacles to be financially included, particularly in the developing world. This document presents the main results of a survey conducted among 14 Latin American countries and reports the landscape of regulation and policies that may enhance child and youth financial inclusion in the region giving policy recommendations stemming from a cross-country analysis. The results of this mapping exercise suggest that a) there is a great diversity in approaches to financial service regulation for children and youth in the region, b) The policies or intentions from national authorities do not always resonate in either regulation or implementation and c) young people are not often seen as independent economic actors.
Español: Este documento presenta los principales resultados de una encuesta a Autoridades Reguladoras del Sistema Financiero de catorce países de América Latina y el Caribe, exponiendo el panorama de la inclusión y la educación financiera de niños y jóvenes en la región. El documento propone recomendaciones de políticas a partir del análisis de las respuestas de las Autoridades Reguladoras en las temáticas de acceso a servicios financieros, protección al consumidor financiero y educación financiera. Los resultados sugieren que en la región hay una gran heterogeneidad en el abordaje de la inclusión financiera de niños y jóvenes, que las políticas diseñadas no siempre redundan en un marco regulatorio o implementación adecuados y que tanto jóvenes como niños no siempre son vistos desde las políticas públicas como actores económicos.
The series Borradores de Economía is published by the Economic Studies Department at the Banco de la República (Central Bank of Colombia). The works published are provisional, and their authors are fully responsible for the opinions expressed in them, as well as for possible mistakes. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Banco de la República or its Board of Directors.
