Gender gaps in financial literacy: a multi-arm RCT to break the response bias in surveys

Laura Hospido, Nagore Iriberri and Margarita Machelett
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Nagore Iriberri: Banco de España

No 2401, Working Papers from Banco de España

Abstract: Gender gaps in financial literacy are pervasive and persistent. While most studies explore why women know less, these gaps might also re?ect differential behavior in providing responses in surveys. Women might be more likely to be uncertain, or men might be more likely to choose an answer when uncertain, while women might tend to opt for “I do not know”, leading to imprecise measures of the gender gap in ?nancial literacy. We test for the effectiveness of three interventions to reduce the frequency of “I do not know”, in a randomized control trial online survey administered to 6,000 participants. The standard survey, our control group, includes the possibility of answering “I do not know”. The three treatment arms exclude the “I do not know” answer, offer incentives for correct answers or inform survey takers of the existing gender gap in choosing “I do not know”. All interventions are very effective in reducing the frequency of “I do not know”. The information is most effective for women, while the incentives are most effective for men. As regards gender gaps, only the provision of information significantly reduces the gender gap in choosing “I do not know”, as well as the gender gap in ?nancial literacy.

Keywords: financial literacy; gender gaps; survey methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K32 O13 O44 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2024-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ban, nep-exp and nep-fle
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https://www.bde.es/f/webbe/SES/Secciones/Publicaci ... 24/Files/dt2401e.pdf First version, January 2024 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Gender gaps in financial literacy: a multi-arm RCT to break the response bias in surveys (2023)
Working Paper: Gender Gaps in Financial Literacy: A Multi-Arm RCT to Break the Response Bias in Surveys (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bde:wpaper:2401

DOI: 10.53479/35752

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