Financial Literacy among the Young: Evidence and Implications for Consumer Policy

Annamaria Lusardi, Olivia Mitchell and Vilsa Curto

No 15352, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We examined financial literacy among the young using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We showed that financial literacy is low among the young; fewer than one-third of young adults possess basic knowledge of interest rates, inflation, and risk diversification. Financial literacy is strongly related to sociodemographic characteristics and family financial sophistication. Specifically, a college-educated male whose parents had stocks and retirement savings is about 50 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-codes: D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pke
Date: 2009-09
Note: AG
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