Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Financial Education on Elementary School Students' Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitudes

Batty, M; Collins, J. Michael; Odders-White, Elizabeth R.

doi:10.1111/joca.12058

Cited by 156 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Adding hours to mathematics classes and modifying the orientation of teaching in this area towards a positive student attitude to this subject may be a more effective strategy, while also being easier and less costly to implement than the introduction of specific financial courses in the Syllabus of secondary schools. In any case, this conclusion, which is the result of initial research into this topic in Spain, should be placed in the context of other studies where a positive impact on financial skills has been achieved by the implementation of specific financial education programmes (see Batty, Collins, & Odders‐White, for a recent contribution in this field). Whatever the case, new assessments need to be made in order to gain further knowledge as to how schools may improve the financial culture of their students.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Factors that influence the financial literacy of young Spanish consumers

Mancebón-Torrubia

Ximénez-de-Embún

Mediavilla

et al. 2019

Int J Consumer Studies

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This study examines the development of mathematical and financial literacy skills amongst 471 students in Spain. Most studies on this topic have looked at either one or the other skill but they have not examined the relationship between the two. The use of simultaneous equations has enabled us to do so. The aim of the paper is to disentangle the factors determining the financial skills of young consumers in Spain. To do this, the PISA Financial Literacy Assessment conducted by the OECD in 2012 is used. Our paper’s main contribution lies in the methodological way to deal with the empirical challenges overshadowing our study. Particularly, our methodological strategy is defined by the application of a multi‐level model of simultaneous equations (MSiEM). This method allows us to take into account the simultaneous determination of math and financial skills at school and the nested structure of the database. This MSiEM permits the identification of the determinants of financial skills, differentiating between the influences operating at school level from those at student level. A first conclusion is that the development of financial abilities of young consumers is mediated by their mathematical skills. A second conclusion, in accordance with those of other international studies, is the importance of the family on the financial literacy of 15‐year‐old Spanish students. The family, a first‐order determinant in reading, science and math scores, is also a key variable in the development of financial skills. Finally, school type (public vs. private) does not display any effect on either the financial or math performance of Spanish young people.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Factors that influence the financial literacy of young Spanish consumers

Mancebón-Torrubia

Ximénez-de-Embún

Mediavilla

et al. 2019

Int J Consumer Studies

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“…Table 3 summarizes some studies on financial education and the young. Most studies find significant, even long-term, effects of financial education (e.g., Batty et al (2015) and Brown et al (2016)). There are more studies on this topic but not included for reasons of brevity.…”

Section: Empirical Findings By Targeted Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Remarkable examples are Berry et al (2015) for Ghana, Bjorvatn et al (2015) for Tanzania, Lührmann et al (2015) for Germany, Batty et al (2015) for the U.S., and Becchetti and Pisani (2011) and Becchetti et al (2013) for Italy. Likewise in contrast to RCT results found for immigrants/migrants, many studies report positive significant effects, for instance on students' attitudes regarding personal financial and saving behavior (Batty et al (2015)), financial proficiency (Bruhn et al (2016)) or financial knowledge and risk aversion (Lührmann et al (2015)). …”

Section: Common Issues In Rctsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial Education for the Disadvantaged? A Review

Entorf

Hou

2018

SSRN Journal

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Many researchers and politicians have identified a lack of financial literacy among the disadvantaged groups of the society. Thus, unequal access to financial markets seems to be a major source of economic inequality, and tackling inequality by starting financial education initiatives seems to be a straightforward solution. However, in contrast to the popularity of financial education interventions worldwide, studies on the economic effects of those interventions report mixed results. With a focus on the effect of disadvantaged groups, we review both the theoretical and empirical findings in order to understand why this discrepancy exists. The survey highlights that it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of financial education, financial literacy and financial behavior in order to disentangle cause and effect. To understand the heterogeneity of potential outcomes, we review theoretical explanations which address the effect of interventions across the population and over the life cycle. Looking at empirical results, we discuss the importance of potentially neglected factors such as cognitive ability, mathematical capability or numeracy, and we find that the young, the immigrants/migrants and the low-income groups obtain more attention from scholars than other disadvantaged groups. Some support in favor of financial education for the young has been detected in terms of higher short-term financial knowledge and awareness, but there is no proven evidence of improved long-term behavior after growing up. From the methodological point of view, in recent years randomized control trials (RCT) have become a popular method to evaluate the effects of financial education, in particular for studies on remittance behavior of migrants. Our review discusses some limitations of both RCTs and econometric studies which might be taken into account by future research. In sum, despite the enthusiasm of many politicians, who see financial education and financial literacy as the key to tackle the problem of financial vulnerability and economic inequality, so far, there is no clear evidence, or at least no scientific consensus, on the effectiveness of performed interventions. The constant search for effective financial education might even cost enormously such that the costs of financial education programs would outweigh potential benefits. It is perhaps true that the financial behavior of the poor is arguably more controlled by lack of aspirations such that financial policy should be directed towards behaviorally motivated anti-poverty policies or simply education in general.Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3167709 In contrast to the popularity of financial education interventions worldwide, studies on the economic effects of those interventions report mixed results. With a focus on the effect on disadvantaged groups, we review both the theoretical and empirical findings in order to understand why this discrepancy exists. The survey first highlights that it is necessary to distinguish between the conc...

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“…This field of research is quite novel, as the previous literature has concentrated on the effects of (well‐structured) financial education programs for children/students and pointed out that these courses produce a persistent impact (Bernheim, Garrett, and Maki ; Loke, Choi, and Libby ; McCormick ). Batty, Collins, and Odders‐White () for the United States, Romagnoli and Trifilidis () for Italy, Alan and Ertac () for Turkey provide evidence of long‐lasting effects of basic courses taught to pupils in elementary schools. Furthermore, Gross, Ingham, and Matasar () discuss the implementation and benefits of a financial literacy course at the university level.…”

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confidence: 99%