Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC)

Financial literacy is in the headlines! Thank you, Andrew Jack and the Financial Times, for highlighting the significant progress being made in the U.S. to advance financial education. It is encouraging to see that 26 states and 64% of high school students now attend schools that require or will soon require a one-semester #personalfinance course. This progress is supported by visionary leaders in each state, such as Tim Ranzetta. Grateful that my own state, California, has just mandated financial education in high school. According to our research, if we had to give a grade to the U.S. on financial literacy, it would be an ‘F.’ In our assessments, adults only answer half the questions correctly, which is surprising in a country with the most developed financial markets. Basic arithmetic skills are often missing, with many people unable to understand the effects of inflation on their income or do a 2% calculation. And even high income people are not always financially literate. We need to keep working together—academia and the public and private sectors—to ensure that every high school student in the U.S. and around the world gets access to a personal finance course. We need a research-based approach to make it impactful and effective. We have a lot of work to do, but the return will be high! Here is the link to the article: https://lnkd.in/gpDUm37R #FinancialEducation #FinancialLiteracy 

Happy 4th of July! Today and always, the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center aspires to help individuals achieve financial freedom! #HappyFourth #FinLit #FinancialLiteracy #July4th #IndependenceDay

So many important insights from today’s OECD - OCDE release of the PISA 2022 #FinancialLiteracy Assessment results! By evaluating nearly 100,000 15-year-old students across 20 countries and economies, the report provides many useful findings of the financial literacy level among the youth across countries. What the data tell us: 1) Better financial literacy is associated with better financial habits: High performers in financial literacy are 72% more likely than low performers to save money and 50% more likely to compare prices before making a purchase. 2) Exposure to financial terms and tasks in school significantly impacts financial literacy and savvy behavior. However, this exposure is uneven across countries. 3) A gender gap exists in many countries: Girls outperform boys in Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, and Malaysia, but girls still perform worse than boys in Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Portugal, Austria, and Costa Rica. 4) Socio-economic background matters: socio-economically advantaged students score 87 points higher than disadvantaged ones, equivalent to more than one PISA proficiency level. Immigrant students score 15 points lower in financial literacy than their non-immigrant peers of similar socio-economic status. 5) For the first time, PISA data shows peer effects on spending decisions. About half of the students spent more than they would like when with friends, and around 60% reported making purchases because their friends had done so. In an ever-changing financial landscape with many challenges for young people, these results are a call to action for policy makers, researchers, and all stakeholders in financial education. These insights underline the importance of fostering financial education from an early age. Together, we can equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the complexities of the financial world. The recording of the live presentation of the assessment results is available at this link: https://lnkd.in/gkExAavM #PISA2022 #FinancialLiteracy #FinancialEducation #OECD Hanna Houdali Alessia Sconti Tim Kaiser Panu Kalmi Tim Ranzetta Nan J. Morrison Laura L. Levine Billy J. Hensley, Ph.D. Dubis Correal Diana Crossan Camille Beaudoin M.A., B.Sc.A. Jose Alexandre Vasco

New research based on #PISA, titled 'Assessing Financial Literacy Among the Young,' has just been posted to our Working Paper Series. This research, co-authored by our Academic Director Annamaria Lusardi, Luis Oberrauch, and Tim Kaiser from the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU), Germany, comes just in time for the launch of the OECD - OCDE's PISA 2022 #FinancialLiteracy Assessment on June 27, 2024. Since 2012, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has conducted triennial tests to evaluate the financial literacy of 15-year-old students in various countries. These data provide an opportunity to study the determinants of financial literacy among the young and how it evolves over time. The working paper examines the data collected so far (2012, 2015, 2018), documents stylized facts across waves, and provides guidance on using the test scores estimated from psychometric models. All these relevant data should guide our efforts and discussions to strengthen financial education around the world. Check out the new working paper here: https://lnkd.in/gdYtKYzt Join the live launch of PISA results on June 27 at 11 am CEST at this link: https://lnkd.in/gkExAavM #FinancialLiteracy #FinancialEducation #OECD #PISA

Great presentation by Ed deHaan at the Financial Literacy Colloquium at Stanford University. Ed shared findings and insights from his paper "Market Access and Retail Investment Performance." It is exciting to bring together many scholars on campus who work on topics related to financial literacy. There is a significant overlap between Personal Finance and Accounting, and it is great to see how we can incorporate findings from accounting research into personal finance teaching. We were also happy that Terrance Odean, from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, joined us and that we had a great turnout for our final colloquium of the quarter. We will resume again in the Fall term. The Financial Literacy Colloquia series aims to bring together individuals on campus engaged in research and programs related to financial literacy, personal finance, household finance, financial wellness, and related topics. The objective is to present research and ongoing work, discuss the main findings and their implications, and explore how they can be used to teach personal finance or inform policy and programs. Amit Seru Ross Levine Greg Rosston John Shoven Hanna Houdali Jim Muyo Gabriela Badica #PersonalFinance #FinancialLiteracy #FinancialDecisionMaking

Congratulations to Veronica Frisancho Robles for the Best Academic Paper Award! We celebrate Veronica Frisancho for winning this year’s The Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIA) in the Best Academic Paper category. Her work, "Spillover effects of financial education: The impact of school-based programs on parents," was published in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing (JFLW). Veronica's research demonstrates the important impact of teaching financial literacy in schools, not only on students but also on their parents. Congratulations, Veronica, for this well-deserved recognition! Thank you for contributing to the JFLW and the G53 Financial Literacy and Personal Finance Research Network. The academic paper is accessible at this link:  https://lnkd.in/g47WGNNa #MAIAAwards #FinancialEducaction #FinancialLiteracy

📰 "Money Matters: Your Guide to Financial Literacy" At GFLEC, we celebrate our collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Financial Literacy Initiative. In this article, you can read about some of our research findings and proposed solutions: https://lnkd.in/gm9eR-CT #financialliteracy #financialeducation

📰 Five money misconceptions that American retirees make over and over again: Yahoo Finance highlights our recent findings from the TIAA Institute - GFLEC Personal Finance Index. It's essential for everyone, both young and old, to understand the basics of personal finance! #PfinIndex #personalfinance #saving #financialsecurity

NEW BOOK! We congratulate our Founder and Academic Director, Annamaria Lusardi, on the release of her new book in Italian, "Il sapere che conta" (The knowledge that counts). Her work, published by Mondadori Group, is an enlightening guide for anyone wishing to acquire the financial knowledge necessary to build a solid and secure future. It is based on her 30 years of academic experience, her teaching, and her years as the director of the Committee for Financial Education in Italy. "With this book, I continue to promote financial education in my own country," says Prof. Lusardi. In a world where making financial decisions is a constant part of daily life, "Il sapere che conta" stands out as a beacon of light for those seeking clear and straightforward guidance. Through seven chapters written in a rigorous yet accessible manner, she explains the fundamental concepts of finance, from saving to investing, from inflation to interest rates, offering practical examples and valuable advice for managing one's money effectively. The book is available in Italian in this link: https://lnkd.in/gsRAzEn9 #financialeducation #financialliteracy #personalfinance #book 

Exceptional gathering! Great things happen when scholars get together to continue expanding an academic field. We thank all the participants to the 9th Cherry Blossom Financial Education Institute at Stanford University, both in person and online. Presenters, panelists, and session chairs did a great job and the rising scholars (the next generation of researchers) were excellent!   Throughout the event, we discussed research that addressed critical questions in the fields of financial literacy, personal finance, and financial education. Let's keep it up!    We also want to express our gratitude to our generous sponsors, the National Endowment for Financial Education and the Initiative for Financial Decision-Making at Stanford University, for their invaluable support of the Institute. #CherryBlossomInstitute #FinancialEducation