Factors influencing modes of savings among women in the informal sector: a case study of Masaka Town

Abstract

This study investigated the determinants of saving modes among women, using the case of Masaka Town. The data for the study was obtained through administering questionnaires and interviewing targeted respondents. A 50 sample size was systematically drawn from the informal business area in Masaka. This study employed the chi square test for relationship between two variables and a multinomial logistic regression model to determine how saving modes depend on other study variables. EXCEL and STATA statistical packages were employed in descriptive analysis and estimation of the multinomial logistic model respectively. It was glaring in this study that age, marital status and income were statistically significant conditions for modes of savings among women in the informal sector (p=0.004,0.037 and 0.000 respectively). It was also found out that high income earners are more likely to adopt modern saving methods like savings accounts and SACCOs (p=0.015 and 0.022 respectively). Age, marital status and income explain only 36.57% of the differences in the saving modes among women in the informal sector. The researcher recommended that married women and old aged women should be targeted in terms of encouraging savings in the informal sector to ensure sustainability, educational programs should also be organized among women in the informal sector since lack of education and technical skills may hinder them from earning more incomes and further research should be engineered to consider other macro-economic variables that could affect the modes of savings among women since this study only looked at the demographic characteristics and income