Erin Taylor

(Principal Consultant at Canela Consulting)

Erin is an economic anthropologist specializing in research into financial behaviour and technology use. At Canela Consulting she manages research projects for commercial, governmental, and academic institutions. She is particularly interested in the effects of regulatory and technological changes on consumers’ well-being.

Erin will talk about Adapting methods to understand financial behaviour: lessons from Haïti

Adapting methods to understand financial behaviour: Lessons from Haiti >>

Researchers investigating financial behaviour face several challenges. First, research design needs to take into account that financial behaviour includes both qualitative and quantitative elements. Second, people tend to be very private about money matters. Third, most of us find it difficult to explain our financial values, decisions, and practices. Fourth, people around the world are using an increasingly diverse array of financial tools, hindering our assessments of their collective impact on an individual or household.

How can we adapt our methods to overcome these research challenges? I discuss how our team used portable kit studies, interaction interviews, and observations to generate insights into mobile money use in Haiti. We had particular success in overcoming privacy issues, discovering unexpected uses of mobile money, identifying social forces influencing mobile money adoption, and explaining ways in which literacy issues impact users’ experiences. Drawing upon these lessons from Haiti, I explore how our methodological toolboxes can be modified for understanding shifting financial landscapes around the globe.