Financial literacy among the young: Evidence and implications for consumer policy

Arbeitspapier

We examined financial literacy among the young using the most recent wave of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We showed that financial literacy is low; fewer than one-third of young adults possess basic knowledge of interest rates, inflation, and risk diversification. Financial literacy was strongly related to sociodemographic characteristics and family financial sophistication. Specifically, a college-educated male whose parents had stocks and retirement savings was about 45 percentage points more likely to know about risk diversification than a female with less than a high school education whose parents were not wealthy. These findings have implications for consumer policy.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CFS Working Paper ; No. 2010/09

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡
• Subject: Financial Knowledge ; Peer Effects ; Family Background ; Finanzmarkt ; Wirtschaftsinformation ; Wissen ; Bildungsniveau ; Jugendliche ; Verbraucherpolitik ; USA

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Lusardi, Annamaria ; Mitchell, Olivia S. ; Curto, Vilsa
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Goethe University Frankfurt, Center for Financial Studies (CFS)
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2010

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/43224
• URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-78626
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET