A glimpse of the complexity of factors that influence financial literacy

Abstract

Financial literacy has been recognised as a vital life skill, but there is little evidence of the factors behind the differences in managing personal finance. Socio‐economic factors and the provision of financial education do explain the variance in financial literacy in some countries, but not in all. In the PISA 2012 financial literacy test, Estonian students ranked very highly in international comparison; although only a few had received financial education at school. Compared with other countries, socio‐economic factors explained the smallest proportion of variance in the test score. There was, however, a significant difference between the mean financial literacy scores of Estonian‐ and Russian‐language communities. The aim of the article is to analyse the factors behind the differences in financial literacy when financial education is not provided. It also offers insight into how students in a similar education system in two different cultural and language frameworks achieve different financial literacy scores. Moreover, the results demonstrate how indicators, such as family background can work through different channels as opposed to the usual parental education or occupation based socio‐economic indicators. The latter implies that unexplained factors remain, such as cultural, developmental and societal indicators, which most researchers pay little attention to when explaining efficient policies for improving financial literacy. Multivariate regression models show that the level of financial literacy in Estonia is correlated with gender, language of the school, the number of books at home, mathematics and reading scores. The Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition explains less than half of the gap between the two communities. The only variable significantly explaining the gap is the number of books at home. Books can be interpreted as a symbol of social status, evidence of cultural background or source of influence for broader picture and better problem solving skills.

Factors that influence the financial literacy of young Spanish consumers

“…If it is taken into consideration that the correlation between the two skills is 0.79, it may be concluded that the effect is strong (see Cohen, ). Therefore, it may be stated that education in financial issues is acquired by individuals through the acquisition of math skills, a result similar to that of Riitsalu and Pöder ().…”

“…Therefore, it may be stated that education in financial issues is acquired by individuals through the acquisition of math skills, a result similar to that of Riitsalu and Pöder (2016).…”

“…By contrast, a less prolific line of research into financial literacy has focused on the internal processes through which consumers develop economic and financial skills. Such studies aim to identify the factors involved in the promotion of financial performance, in order for them to serve as the basis for successful public policies aimed at improving such skills (see Lusardi, Mitchell, & Curto, ; Erner, Goedde‐Menke, & Oberste, ; Riitsalu & Pöder, ). In these studies, financial skills are described as the output of a complex production process in which several influences participate (individual attitudes, aptitudes for learning, the family context, social networks, schools, etc.…”

“…Our study provides new evidence on this last topic from the Spanish experience. Its aim is to inquire into the complexity of factors influencing financial abilities (Riitsalu & Pöder, ) with the purpose to broaden the knowledge about the determinants of financial literacy among the young.…”

Propensity to plan, financial capability, and financial satisfaction

“…Many studies used data from different countries to study financial literacy and capability (Agnew & Cameron‐Agnew, ; Nicolini, Cude, & Chatterjee, ; Riitsalu & Põder, ). Research shows that financial capability, financial literacy, and financial behavior are positively associated.…”