Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perspectives On Evaluation In Financial Education: Landscape, Issues, And Studies, William B. Walstad, Carly Urban, Carlos J. Asarta, Elizabeth Breitbach, William Bosshardt, Julie Heath, Barbara O'Neill, Jamie Wagner, Jing Jian Xiao

Jamie Wagner

This review discusses the heterogeneity in the effectiveness of financial education programs that occurs because of the unique conditions for programs and methods to evaluate them. The authors define six groups served by financial education: children, youth, college students and young adults, working adults, military personnel, and low-income consumers. They then discuss research and evaluation literature for each group with a critical eye on program purpose, content, and evaluation. They also present findings affecting multiple groups on four issues: student loans, homeownership, retirement planning, and financial advising. The accumulated evidence on the effectiveness of financial education is positive, although the …