THE CAUSAL MODEL AFFECTING FINANCIAL WELL-BEING OF CASHEW NUT AGRICULTURISTS IN UTTARADIT PROVINCE

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to 1) study the causal effect on the financial well-being of the cashew nut agriculturists in Uttaradit province; 2) guide the development of the financial well-being of the cashew nut agriculturists in Uttaradit province. The research sample consisted of 369 cashew nut agriculturists in Uttaradit province derived by stratified random sampling. The variables consisted of three endogenous latent variables: financial planning ability, financial behavior improvement, and financial well-being; and one exogenous latent variable: household accounting efficiency. These latent variables were measured by 12 observed variables. The questionnaire was used as a research instrument with composite reliability between 0.753-0.843. The data were analyzed by SEM using Lisrel.
According to the findings from the research, the structural equation model showed that the variable having direct and indirect effects on financial well-being was household accounting efficiency. The results of this study showed that the measurement model was in congruence with the empirical data (x²= 44.877, p-value = 0.435, df = 44, RMSEA = 0.016, GFI = 0.914, NFI = 0.961). This model exhibited goodness of fit. In terms of a financial well-being development guideline for cashew nut farmers in Uttaradit province, the government should cultivate financial behavior and transfer technical knowledge about household accounting to be an effective tool for planning, cost control, debt management and investment planning.