Latest documents http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/index/index/ Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:19:35 +0200 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:19:35 +0200 http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/7903 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. JEL Classification: D91 Keywords: Financial Knowledge, Peer Effects, Family Background Annamaria Lusardi; Olivia S. Mitchell; Vilsa Curto workingpaper http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/7903 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:19:35 +0200