Objective and Subjective Financial Wellbeing: A Gender Study of Financial Behavior in Mexico

Financial well-being can be measured objectively and also subjectively through people's perceptions of their financial condition.This research aims to identify the relationship between objective and subjective financial well-being and financial behavior based on gender.We analyzed data from the National Survey on Financial Health (ENSAFI), a national sample of the Mexican population with 20,448 participants from the thirty-two states of Mexico.Indices were constructed for the financial behavior, objective financial well-being, and subjective financial well-being variables, their correlations were analyzed, and a logistic regression model was estimated.The results confirm the existence of a positive and significant relationship between the two dimensions of financial well-being and financial behavior, being greater the objective dimension.Likewise, it was found that both levels are lower for women and that the difference is more pronounced in the objective dimension.In addition, control variables such as age, marital status, economic dependents and receipt of financial support were observed.Regarding age, the findings show a negative effect mainly on the objective component of financial well-being, and the impact is relatively more pronounced in the male population.About marital status, women show more significant negative relationships than men, the latter being affected in their financial well-being only when their marital status is a free union.The existence of dependents shows a clear and consistent negative association with objective and subjective financial well-being.Finally, the positive influence of government financial support is only found in the subjective component and, mainly, in the financial well-being of the male population.