Financial literacy

Overview

Financial literacy is the possession of skills, knowledge, behavior, and attitude that allow an individual to make informed decisions regarding money. Financial literacy, financial education, and financial knowledge are used interchangeably. Financially unsophisticated individuals cannot plan for their future because of their poor financial knowledge. Financially sophisticated individuals are good at financial calculations; for example they understand compound interest, which helps them to engage in low-credit borrowing. Most of the time, unsophisticated individuals pay high costs for their debt borrowing.

Raising interest in personal finance is now a focus of state-run programs in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Understanding basic financial concepts allows people to know how to navigate the financial system. People with appropriate financial literacy training make better financial decisions and manage money than those without such training.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) started an inter-governmental project in 2003 to provide ways to improve financial education and literacy standards through the development of common financial literacy principles. In March 2008, the OECD launched the International Gateway for Financial Education, which aims to serve as a clearinghouse for financial education programs, information, and research worldwide. In the UK, the alternative term "financial capability" is used by the state and its agencies: the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK started a national strategy on financial capability in 2003. The US government established its Financial Literacy and Education Commission in 2003.

Definitions of financial literacy

There is a diversity of definitions used by bodies such as NGOs and think tanks, but in its broadest sense, financial literacy is an understanding of money. Some of the definitions below are closely aligned with "skills and knowledge", whereas others take broader views, and some are from academic research which is tested and validated:

Effectively taking decisions about money management and ability to make informed decisions is called financial literacy. To survive in modern society individuals need to have knowledge about financial literacy. Ability to use financial concepts in daily life and make optimal financial decisions is called financial literacy. Financial literacy is an ability to effectively manage the economic well-being of individuals with knowledge and financial skills. The Government Accountability Office definition (2010) is "the ability to make informed judgments and to take effective actions regarding the current and future use and management of money. It includes the challenges associated with life events such as a job loss, saving for retirement, or paying for a child's education." The Financial Literacy and Education Commission (2020) includes a notion of personal capability in its definition as "the skills, knowledge and tools that equip people to make individual financial decisions and actions to attain their goals; this may also be known as financial capability, especially when paired with access to financial products and services." The National Financial Educators Council adds a psychological component defining financial literacy as "possessing the skills and knowledge on financial matters to confidently take effective action that best fulfills an individual's personal, family and global community goals." The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018 published a definition in two parts. The first part refers to kinds of thinking and behaviour, while the second part refers to the purposes for developing the particular literacy. "Financial literacy is the knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and risks, and the skills, motivation and confidence to apply such knowledge and understanding in order to make effective decisions across a range of financial contexts, to improve the financial well-being of individuals and society, and to enable participation in economic life" Financial literacy encompasses not only knowledge and skills but also the ability to apply them effectively in real-world situations, making informed financial decisions that align with one's goals and values.

Measurement

Financial literacy in personal financial planning can be defined as objectively measured financial literacy or as subjectively measured financial literacy. Objectively measured literacy is mainly about the numerical understanding of concepts such as compound interest, portfolio investment, diversification benefits, and the impact of inflation on financial decisions. Objective financial literacy has been measured with five 5-item tests, which include questions related to interest rates, saving accounts, and inflation. Out of five questions, people who tend to answer three questions correctly counted as low financial literacy. Subjective financial literacy can be defined as the self-perception of individuals about their financial literacy. Lusardi and Mitchell (2014) identified that people rate their subjective financial literacy higher than objective financial literacy because of their behavioral biases when judging their financial knowledge subjectively. People often misestimate their financial knowledge.

Critical financial literacy

Some financial literacy researchers have raised political questions about the character of financial literacy education, arguing that it justifies the return of greater financial risk (e.g. tuition fees, pensions, health care costs, etc.) from corporations and governments back to individuals. Many of these researchers argue for a financial literacy education that is more critically oriented and broader in focus: an education that helps individuals better understand systemic injustice and social exclusion, rather than one that understands financial failure as an individual problem and the character of financial risk as apolitical. Many researchers work within social justice, critical pedagogy, feminist and critical race theory paradigms.

Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing

The Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing, published by Cambridge University Press, is an open-access academic journal established in April 2023. It publishes rigorous research on financial literacy and financial well-being. It aims to inform public policies as public, private and civil society strategies and activities, with the ultimate objective of improving the financial literacy, resilience, and well-being of individuals and micro and small entrepreneurs. This journal covers the topics including financial knowledge, financial attitudes and skills. This journal also includes research on related fields like financial well-being.

Accounting literacy

Accounting literacy refers to the ability to read and analyse the financial statements of a company or individuals and understand the impact of financial decisions. This can be helpful for investors, managers, and individuals. Accounting literacy can be combined with financial planning, tax planning and understanding the financial health of the company. Academic researchers have explored the relationship between financial literacy and accounting literacy. Roman L. Weil defines financial literacy as "the ability to understand the important accounting judgments management makes, why management makes them, and how management can use those judgments to manipulate financial statements". The 1999 Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees recommended that publicly traded companies have at least three members with "a certain basic 'financial literacy'. Such 'literacy' signifies the ability to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company's balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement."

Digital financial literacy

Digital financial literacy is all about the combination of Fintech and financial literacy. Digital Financial Literacy combines objective financial knowledge with four dimensions of digital literacy including digital knowledge, awareness of digital financial services, tacit knowledge of using digital financial services, and the ability to avoid digital fraud. Digital Financial Literacy is the ability of individuals to use digital devices to make financial decisions. There is a need for digital financial literacy across all consumers because of increasing fraud victimization due to digitalization, which prone individuals to misinformed financial decisions.

International findings

The OECD/INFE 2023 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy, covering 39 countries and economies (including 20 OECD members) and more than 68,000 adults aged 18-79, found an average financial literacy score of 60 out of 100 across all participating countries and economies (63 out of 100 among participating OECD countries). Only 34% of adults reached the minimum target score of 70 out of 100. The average digital financial literacy score was 53 out of 100 (55 among OECD participants), and the average financial well-being score was 42 out of 100 (47 among OECD participants). While 84% of adults understood the definition of inflation, only 42% correctly answered a compound-interest question. A 2005 OECD study analysing financial literacy surveys in OECD countries. A selection of findings included:

In Australia, 67 percent of respondents indicated that they understood the concept of compound interest, yet when asked to solve a problem using the concept, only 28% had a good understanding. A British survey found that consumers do not actively seek out financial information. The information they receive is acquired by chance, for example, by picking up a pamphlet at a bank or having a chance talk with a bank employee. A Canadian survey found that respondents considered choosing the right investments more stressful than going to the dentist. A survey of Korean high-school students showed that they had failing scores—that is, they answered fewer than 60 percent of the questions correctly—on tests designed to measure their ability to choose and manage a credit card, their knowledge about saving and investing for retirement, and their awareness of risk and the importance of insuring against it. A survey in the US found that four out of ten American workers need to be saving for retirement. "Yet it is encouraging that the few financial education programmes which have been evaluated are reasonably effective. Research in the US shows that workers increase their participation in 401(k) plans (a type of retirement plan, with special tax advantages, which allows employees to save and invest for their retirement) when employers offer financial education programmes, whether in the form of brochures or seminars." According to a 2022 meta-analysis of 76 randomized experiments involving more than 160,000 individuals conducted by Kaiser et al., financial education programs have, on average, positive causal effects on both financial knowledge and downstream financial behaviors. The effects are economically meaningful and comparable in size to educational interventions in other domains; they are at least three times (and in some specifications more than five times) as large as those reported in an earlier, smaller meta-analysis. Effects on knowledge are generally larger than effects on behavior, and intensity of treatment matters. According to the 2014 Asian Development Bank survey, more Mongolians have expanded their financial options, and for instance now compare the interest rates of loans and savings services through the successful launch of the TV drama with a focus on the fiscal literacy of poor and non-poor vulnerable households. Given that 80% of Mongolians cited TV as their main source of information, TV serial dramas were identified as the most effective vehicle for messages on financial literacy.

Student financial literacy (PISA)

The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 financial literacy assessment (the fourth such assessment), covered nearly 100,000 15-year-old students in 20 countries and economies. The mean score across 14 OECD countries and economies was 498 points. On average across OECD participants, 18% of students performed at or below Level 1 (the lowest proficiency level), while 11% were top performers at Level 5. Socio-economically advantaged students scored 87 points higher than disadvantaged students on average. Performance remained broadly stable compared with earlier cycles in countries with trend data.

Asia–Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, North East

A survey of women consumers across Asia Pacific Middle East Africa (APMEA) comprises basic money management, financial planning and investment. The top ten of APMEA Women MasterCard's Financial Literacy Index are Thailand 73.9, New Zealand 71.3, Australia 70.2, Vietnam 70.1, Singapore 69.4, Taiwan 68.7, Philippines 68.2, Hong Kong 68.0, Indonesia 66.5 and Malaysia 66.0.

Australia

The Australian Government established a National Consumer and Financial Literacy Taskforce in 2004, which recommended the establishment of the Financial Literacy Foundation in 2005. In 2008, the functions of the Foundation were transferred to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The Australian Government also runs a range of programs (such as Money Management) to improve the financial literacy of its Indigenous population, particularly those living in remote communities. In 2011 ASIC released a National Financial Literacy Strategy—informed by an earlier ASIC research report 'Financial Literacy and Behavioural Change'—to enhance the financial well-being of all Australians by improving financial literacy levels. The strategy has four pillars:

Education Trusted and independent information, tools and support Additional solutions to drive improved financial well-being and behavioural change. Partnerships with the sectors involved with financial literacy, measuring its impact and promoting best practice. ASIC's MoneySmart website was one of the key initiatives in the government's strategy. It replaced the FIDO and Understanding Money websites. ASIC also has a MoneySmart Teaching website for teachers and educators. It provides professional learning and other resources to help educators integrate consumer and financial literacy into teaching and learning programs. The Know Risk Network of web and phone apps, newsletters, videos, and websites was developed by the insurance membership body ANZIIF to educate consumers on insurance and risk management.

India

National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE), a non-profit company, was created under section 8 of Companies Act 2013, to promote financial literacy in India. It is promoted by four major financial regulators, Reserve Bank of India, SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA. NCFE conducted a benchmark financial literacy survey in 2015 to find the level of financial awareness in India. This was followed by another survey conducted by NCFE in 2019. It organises various programs to improve financial literacy including collaborating with schools and developing new curriculum to include financial management concepts. It also conducts a yearly financial literacy test. The topics NCFE covers in its awareness programs include investments, types of bank accounts, services offered by banks, Aadhaar cards, demat accounts, pan cards, power of compounding, digital payments, protection against financial frauds etc.