Financial literacy: An essential tool for informed consumer choice?

Annamaria Lusardi ()

No 2008/19, CFS Working Paper Series from Center for Financial Studies (CFS)

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Financial Literacy; Financial Education; Saving Decisions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D14 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (109)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/25554/1/577553798.PDF (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Financial Literacy: An Essential Tool for Informed Consumer Choice? (2008)
Working Paper: Financial Literacy: An Essential Tool for Informed Consumer Choice? (2008)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:cfswop:200819

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CFS Working Paper Series from Center for Financial Studies (CFS) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics ().