Investment in Financial Literacy and Saving Decisions
43 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2011
Date Written: February 2011
Abstract
We present an intertemporal consumption model of consumer investment in financial literacy. Consumers benefit from such investment because their stock of financial literacy allows them to increase the returns on their wealth. Since literacy depreciates over time and has a cost in terms of current consumption, the model determines an optimal investment in literacy. The model shows that financial literacy and wealth are determined jointly, and are positively correlated over the life cycle. Empirically, the model leads to an instrumental variables approach, in which the initial stock of financial literacy (as measured by math performance in school) is used as an instrument for the current stock of literacy. Using microeconomic and aggregate data, we find a strong effect of financial literacy on wealth accumulation and national saving, and also show that ordinary least squares estimates understate the impact of financial literacy on saving.
Keywords: Financial Literacy, Human Capital, Saving
JEL Classification: D8, E2
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Financial Literacy and Planning: Implications for Retirement Wellbeing
-
Baby Boomer Retirement Security: The Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth
-
Baby Boomer Retirement Security: The Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth
-
Implications for Retirement Wellbeing of Financial Literacy and Planning
-
Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan
By John Ameriks, Andrew Caplin, ...
-
Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation
By Maarten van Rooij, Annamaria Lusardi, ...
-
Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation
By Maarten van Rooij, Annamaria Lusardi, ...
-
Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation
By Maarten van Rooij, Annamaria Lusardi, ...