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Financial Education in Schools: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies

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  • Tim Kaiser
  • Lukas Menkhoff

Abstract

We study the literature on school financial education programs for children and youth via a quantitative meta-analysis of 37 (quasi-) experiments. We find that financial education treatment has, on average, a significant and sizeable impact on financial knowledge (+0.25 SD), similar to educational interventions in other domains. Additionally, we document small but still significant effects on financial behaviors (+0.05 SD). These results are robust to restricting the sample to 18 randomized experiments and they hold irrespective of the meta-analytic method used. Metaregressions show the beneficial effect of more intensive treatments and smaller class size, albeit with decreasing marginal returns.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Kaiser & Lukas Menkhoff, 2018. "Financial Education in Schools: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies," CESifo Working Paper Series 7395, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7395
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial education; financial literacy; financial behavior; meta-analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • A21 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Pre-college
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance

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