Financial literacy : an essential tool for informed consumer choice?

  • Increasingly, individuals are in charge of their own financial security and are confronted with ever more complex financial instruments. However, there is evidence that many individuals are not well-equipped to make sound saving decisions. This paper demonstrates widespread financial illiteracy among the U.S. population, particularly among specific demographic groups. Those with low education, women, African-Americans, and Hispanics display particularly low levels of literacy. Financial literacy impacts financial decision-making. Failure to plan for retirement, lack of participation in the stock market, and poor borrowing behavior can all be linked to ignorance of basic financial concepts. While financial education programs can result in improved saving behavior and financial decision-making, much can be done to improve these programs’ effectiveness.

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Metadaten
Author:Annamaria Lusardi
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-56927
Parent Title (German):Center for Financial Studies (Frankfurt am Main): CFS working paper series ; No. 2008,19
Series (Serial Number):CFS working paper series (2008, 19)
Document Type:Working Paper
Language:English
Year of Completion:2008
Year of first Publication:2008
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2008/08/15
Tag:Financial Education; Financial Literacy; Saving Decisions
GND Keyword:USA; Finanzplanung; Kenntnis
HeBIS-PPN:202945375
Institutes:Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Center for Financial Studies (CFS)
Dewey Decimal Classification:3 Sozialwissenschaften / 33 Wirtschaft / 330 Wirtschaft
Licence (German):License LogoDeutsches Urheberrecht