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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Financial Literacy And Household Savings In Romania, Elisabeth Beckmann Jul 2013

Financial Literacy And Household Savings In Romania, Elisabeth Beckmann

Numeracy

We present new evidence from the Euro Survey of the Austrian Central Bank on the level of financial literacy in Romania and analyze how financial literacy is related to household savings. Less than 5% of respondents were able to correctly answer the three “core” financial literacy questions on interest compounding, inflation, and risk diversification, with the risk diversification question posing the greatest difficulties. Twenty percent of respondents are able to answer both the interest compounding and inflation questions correctly. Financial literacy levels differ between regions and across rural and urban areas. Older and less-educated individuals perform worst on the financial …


Financial Literacy And Financial Planning In France, Luc Arrondel, Majdi Debbich, Frédérique Savignac Jul 2013

Financial Literacy And Financial Planning In France, Luc Arrondel, Majdi Debbich, Frédérique Savignac

Numeracy

We study financial literacy in France using the PATER survey and following the Lusardi and Mitchell (2011c) approach. We find that some subpopulations are less financially literate than others: women, young and old people as well as less-educated people are more likely to face difficulties when dealing with fundamental financial concepts such as risk diversification and inflation and interest compounding. We also find some differences in financial knowledge depending on the political opinion of the respondents. Finally we show that these differences in financial knowledge are correlated with differences in the propensity to plan: people who score higher on the …


Financial Literacy And Retirement Planning In Switzerland, Martin Brown, Roman Graf Jul 2013

Financial Literacy And Retirement Planning In Switzerland, Martin Brown, Roman Graf

Numeracy

We use a representative survey covering 1,500 households to document the level of financial literacy in Switzerland and to examine how financial literacy is related to retirement planning. We measure financial literacy with standardized questions that capture knowledge about three basic financial concepts: Compound interest, inflation, and risk diversification. We measure retirement planning by the incidence of a voluntary retirement savings account. Our results show that financial literacy in Switzerland is high by international standards--a result which is compatible with the high ranking of Switzerland on the PISA mathematical scales. Financial literacy is lower among low-income, less-educated, and immigrant, non-native-speaking …


Financial Literacy And Financial Behavior Among Young Adults: Evidence And Implications, Carlo De Bassa Scheresberg Jul 2013

Financial Literacy And Financial Behavior Among Young Adults: Evidence And Implications, Carlo De Bassa Scheresberg

Numeracy

This paper uses data from the 2009 National Financial Capability Study to examine financial literacy and financial behavior in a sample of approximately 4,500 young adults age 25 to 34. The paper finds that most young adults lack basic financial knowledge. Financial literacy is especially low among certain demographic groups, such as women, minorities, and lower-income or less-educated people. A high level of education, however, is not a guarantee of financial literacy. Only 49% of young respondents with a college education and 60% of young respondents with postgraduate education could correctly answer three simple questions designed to assess financial literacy. …


Financial Literacy And Credit Card Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis By Age, Sam Allgood, William Walstad Jul 2013

Financial Literacy And Credit Card Behaviors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis By Age, Sam Allgood, William Walstad

Numeracy

In this study, we use a measure of financial literacy that includes both a test score of actual financial literacy and a self-rating of perceived financial literacy to investigate how financial literacy affects five credit card behaviors: (1) always paying a credit card balance in full; (2) carrying over a credit card balance and being charged interest; (3) making only a minimum payment on a credit card balance; (4) being charged a fee for a late payment; and (5) being charged a fee for exceeding a credit limit. Probit analysis was used to assess each behavior with a large nationally …


The Geography Of Financial Literacy, Christopher Bumcrot, Judy Lin, Annamaria Lusardi Jul 2013

The Geography Of Financial Literacy, Christopher Bumcrot, Judy Lin, Annamaria Lusardi

Numeracy

This paper explores how well equipped today’s households are to make complex financial decisions in the face of often high-cost and high-risk financial instruments. Specifically we focus on financial literacy. Most importantly, we describe the geography of financial literacy, i.e., how financial literacy is distributed across the fifty US states. We describe the correlation of financial literacy and some important aggregate variables, such as state-level poverty rates. Finally, we examine the extent to which differences in financial literacy can be explained by states’ demographic and economic characteristics. To assess financial literacy, five questions were added to the 2009 National Financial …


The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane Jan 2013

The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane

Numeracy

The more statistical analyses performed in the analysis of research data, the more likely it is that one or more of the conclusions will be in error. Multiple statistical analyses can occur when the sample contains several subgroups and the researchers perform separate analyses for each subgroup. For example, separate analyses may be done for different ethnic groups, different levels of education, and/or for both genders. Media reports of research frequently omit information on the number of subgroup analyses performed thus leaving the reader with insufficient information to assess the validity of the conclusions. This article discusses the problems with …


The Scope Of Numeracy After Five Years, H. L. Vacher, Dorothy Wallace Jan 2013

The Scope Of Numeracy After Five Years, H. L. Vacher, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

The purpose of this editorial is to provide an efficient way for readers and potential authors to see (a) what type of papers are published in this journal and (b) what subjects are appropriate. The editorial consists mainly of about a dozen pages of tables including live links to the papers’ access/abstract pages to facilitate easy browsing. In the first table, the 85 papers that have been published in the journal’s first five years are classified into: review papers; research papers; case studies; essays; book reviews; columns; and editorials about the journal. In the second table, the papers are inventoried …