• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.51-62
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• 2011

Financial consumers can invest their financial assets directly or indirectly. This investment type have effect on their financial well-being and may be influenced by their financial characteristics and investment attitude. The purposes of the study were to classify the consumers by direct and indirect investment behavior of their financial assets and to investigate their socio-economic characteristics and investment attitudes to give implications for financial counseling and education. The data came from the 2009 Fund Investors Survey which was conducted by Korea Investors Protection Foundation. Total 2,530 consumers were analyzed using frequency, CROSSTAB, ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test. In general, consumer tended to be rational in choosing the investment type. Noninvestors consisted of 38.5% of the sample. The economic level was the lowest for the noninvestors. The consumers who invest both indirectly and directly consisted of 21.0% and their economic level was the highest. Their investment tendency was between direct and indirect investors'. The proportion of direct investors ws 12.1% and that of indirect investors was 28.4%. Although the economic levels of indirect investors and direct investors were not statistically different, there were differences in their demographics and investment attitudes. The proportions of those aged 30-39, female and nonmarried were greater for indirect investors. They had the tendency to invest safely and diversely for a long term with reserve money. On the other hand, direct investors tended to be male, married and aged 40-49. They tended to invest intensively for a shorter term and seek returns even with borrowing money.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.109-127
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• 2008

There are few studies on the characteristics of debtors in individual rehabilitation procedures, though research in this field is needed. The scarcity of research means that public policy and perception are being made with inadequate information and, to a certain extent, based on personal prejudices and misconceptions. The purpose of this study was to find out demographic, economic and psychological characteristics of debtors in individual rehabilitation procedures. For this study, an in-depth interview was used. The major findings were as follows : The focus of this study is debtors in individual rehabilitation procedures. They were all under 40 and received relatively high educations. Interestingly, they showed a high tendency to use debt and an inability to manage their money. They had short time horizons and imperfect self-control in consumption and borrowing decisions. Monthly income, expenditures, asset and debt of the debtors, and monthly payment to creditors were reported. There were a lot of reasons for their bankruptcy : business failure, job loss, the cost of raising children, and expenditures for entertainment causing them to file for individual rehabilitation procedures. One of the major conclusions of this study was the discovery that their psychological characteristics were nearly the same. The implications of the study suggest that financial education and counseling must consider psychological characteristics.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.1105-1117
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• 2017

Financial technology, also known as FinTech, is one of the fast growing global businesses in since its inception in 2008. Fintech is a new economic industry, comprised of companies that adopted the latest technologies to provide more efficient financial services than the traditional financial services. Fintech companies are generally small to medium sized startups trying to disintermediate existing financial systems. FinTech companies can be differentiated in several areas, based on its business solutions and target customers. In Korea, the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending companies are the most prominent in the FinTech sector. P2P lending is a method of borrowing or lending money to individuals through online services without the use of an official financial institution as an intermediary. The P2P lending companies operate their services entirely online or mobile environment. Consequently, mobile P2P lending application users are dramatically increasing. Thus, it is worth evaluating the acceptance of the mobile apps of the P2P lending companies from a user's perspective. This paper discusses user acceptance of the mobile P2P lending apps, guided by the Technology Acceptance Model. We conclude that the users' acceptance of mobile P2P lending apps are significantly influenced by perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and user satisfaction. These in turn influenced their attitude towards using mobile P2P lending apps and intention to use.

• World Technopolis Review
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.125-134
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• 2018

The purpose of this article is to introduce and describe the case of Fukuoka Next-generation Social System Creation Hub based on the conceptual framework of regional innovation platform strategy. In short, it is a "government-issued" regional innovation platform strategy to improve innovativeness with limited creative capital through "borrowing" not money but network, wisdom, know-how, and ideas from each other between some stakeholder groups in a region. The Fukuoka Industry, Science & Technology Foundation, which is the coordinating institution of the whole program, plays the role of a platformer to unify various projects into the program crossing borders between stakeholder groups for building regional innovation platforms that lends intensive support to feedback loops between the program facilitator and its partners in the program. Thanks to being a government-issued one, it could be tied together with some wide ranging issues of policy on social innovations, such as the "low carbon society" or the "health and longevity society." But at the same time, it is a concern that many regional research institutions that have innovative potential and diverse ideas become governed by the platform without their noticing it and dealt with in the same way based on "selected" and "designated" strategic goals. Therefore, it seems that a regional innovation platform strategy is a kind of "double-edged sword" in public policy in the era of "panopticism of bureaucratic society" in Japan.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.165-174
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• 2022

Background: One goal of the End tuberculosis (TB) Strategy is to see no TB-affected households experiencing catastrophic costs. Therefore, it is crucial for TB-elimination programs to identify catastrophic costs and their main drivers in order to establish appropriate health and social measures. This study aimed to measure the percent of catastrophic costs experienced by Egyptian TB patients and to identify its determinants. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with 151 Egyptian TB patients recruited from two chest dispensaries from the Cairo governate from May 2019 to May 2020. We used a validated World Health Organization TB patient-cost tool to collect data on patients' demographic information, household income, and direct and indirect expense of seeking TB treatment. We considered catastrophic TB costs to be total costs exceeding 20% of the household's annual income. Results: Of the patients, 33% experienced catastrophic costs. The highest proportion of the total came in the pre-treatment stage. Being the main breadwinner, experiencing job loss, selling property, and the occurrence of early coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown were independent determinants of the incidence of catastrophic costs. Borrowing money and selling property were the most-often reported coping strategies adopted. Conclusion: Despite the availability of free TB care under the Egyptian National TB Program, nearly a third of the TB patients incurred catastrophic costs. Job loss and being the main breadwinner were among the significant predictors of catastrophic costs. Social protection mechanisms, including cash assistance and insurance coverage, are necessary to achieve the goal of the End TB Strategy.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.407-419
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• 2024

Objectives: This study was conducted to measure financial toxicity (FT) among patients with cancer in Vietnam using the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) and to describe the cost management strategies employed by these patients. Methods: This comprehensive cross-sectional study enrolled 634 patients from 2 specialized oncology hospitals in Vietnam. Using COST cut-off scores, FT was classified as none/mild (≥26), moderate (14-25), or severe (≤13). Cost management strategies, or coping mechanisms, were classified into 4 groups: lifestyle changes, financial resource strategies, treatment modifications, and support seeking. Results: The prevalence of FT was 91.8%, with 51.7% of participants demonstrating severe and 40.1% exhibiting moderate FT. Severe FT was significantly associated with female, low education level, unstable employment, low household economic status, and advanced cancer stage. The most common coping strategies were as follows: among lifestyle changes, reducing spending on basic items and leisure activities (78.7%) and cutting back on essential household expenses (66.4%); among financial resource strategies, borrowing money from relatives or friends (49.1%) and withdrawing funds from retirement or savings accounts (34.1%); within treatment modifications, switching treatment facilities or doctors due to cost concerns (9.3%); and within support seeking, obtaining help from welfare or community organizations (18.8%). All strategies were significantly more likely to be used by patients with severe FT. Conclusions: FT was highly prevalent among patients with cancer. Most patients relied on lifestyle adjustments and coping strategies, underscoring the need for improved financial support systems to alleviate the economic burden associated with cancer care.