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)
Date: 2009-09
Note: AG
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (30)

Published as “Financial Literacy a mong the Young,” joint with Olivia Mitchell and Vilsa Cu rto , in a special issue on financial literacy , Journal of Consumer Affairs , vol. 44(2), pp. 358 - 380 , 2010.

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Working Paper: Financial literacy among the young: Evidence and implications for consumer policy (2010)
Working Paper: Financial Literacy among the Young: Evidence and Implications for Consumer Policy (2009)
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