IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/pseptp/hal-01784318.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Financial Literacy and Asset Behaviour: Poor Education and Zero for Conduct?

Author

Listed:
  • Luc Arrondel

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Financial Literacy is a specific component of human capital which allows individual to deal with fundamental financial issues so as to take adequate financial decisions. After presenting the theoretical foundations of this notion, establishing its definition and reviewing the empirical literature, this paper presents recent studies about the link between financial literacy and financial decisions of the population in France using an original survey. The results suggest that financial literacy varies across the population. It is correlated with education but also with gender, age and political affiliation. This last point could reflect differences in opinion regarding the role of welfare state and individual responsibility. Finally, the link between financial literacy and some financial behaviors (the propensity to formulate a specific financial plan in the long run on the one hand and the propensity to own stocks on the other hand) is evaluated: in both cases positive correlations with financial literacy variables are found. We conclude with a reflection on the relative status of financial education to explain the investments of households and judge the effectiveness of training programs in the economic culture.

Suggested Citation

  • Luc Arrondel, 2018. "Financial Literacy and Asset Behaviour: Poor Education and Zero for Conduct?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-01784318, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-01784318
    DOI: 10.1057/s41294-018-0053-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Lamla, Bettina, 2014. "The long Shadow of Socialism: On East-West German Differences in Financial Literacy," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100585, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Luigi Guiso & Tullio Jappelli, 2005. "Awareness and Stock Market Participation," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 9(4), pages 537-567.
    3. Sekita, Shizuka, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in Japan," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 637-656, October.
    4. Lusardi, Annamaria & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 509-525, October.
    5. van Rooij, Maarten & Lusardi, Annamaria & Alessie, Rob, 2011. "Financial literacy and stock market participation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 449-472, August.
    6. Rob Alessie & Maarten van Rooij & Annamaria Lusardi, 2011. "Financial Literacy, Retirement Preparation and Pension Expectations in the Netherlands," CeRP Working Papers 110, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    7. Luigi Guiso & Tullio Jappelli, 2006. "Information Acquisition and Portfolio Performance," CeRP Working Papers 52, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    8. Michael Haliassos, 2003. "Stockholding: Recent Lessons from Theory and Computations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Luigi Guiso & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli (ed.), Stockholding in Europe, chapter 2, pages 30-49, Palgrave Macmillan.
    9. Gilles Saint-Paul, 2012. "Liberté et société post-utilitariste," Revue française d'économie, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(2), pages 3-18.
    10. Selima Benmansour & Elyès Jouini & Clotilde Napp, 2006. "Is there a pessimistic bias in individual beliefs ? Evidence from survey dat," Post-Print halshs-00163694, HAL.
    11. Arrondel, L. & Debbich, M. & Savignac, F., 2013. "Financial Literacy and Financial Planning in France," Working papers 465, Banque de France.
    12. Christelis, Dimitris & Jappelli, Tullio & Padula, Mario, 2010. "Cognitive abilities and portfolio choice," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 18-38, January.
    13. Jappelli, Tullio & Padula, Mario, 2013. "Investment in financial literacy and saving decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2779-2792.
    14. Rob Alessie & Maarten van Rooij & Annamaria Lusardi, 2011. "Financial Literacy, Retirement Preparation and Pension Expectations in the Netherlands," CeRP Working Papers 110, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    15. Klapper, Leora & Panos, Georgios A., 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning: the Russian case," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 599-618, October.
    16. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    17. Diana Crossan & David Feslier & Roger Hurnard, 2011. "Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in New Zealand," CeRP Working Papers 113, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    18. John Ameriks & Andrew Caplin & John Leahy, 2003. "Wealth Accumulation and the Propensity to Plan," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(3), pages 1007-1047.
    19. Alessie, Rob & Van Rooij, Maarten & Lusardi, Annamaria, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement preparation in the Netherlands," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 527-545, October.
    20. Annette Vissing-Jorgensen, 2004. "Perspectives on Behavioral Finance: Does "Irrationality" Disappear with Wealth? Evidence from Expectations and Actions," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2003, Volume 18, pages 139-208, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Kimball, Miles S, 1993. "Standard Risk Aversion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(3), pages 589-611, May.
    22. Fornero, Elsa & Monticone, Chiara, 2011. "Financial literacy and pension plan participation in Italy," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 547-564, October.
    23. Luc Arrondel & Majdi Debbich & Fr�d�rique Savignac, 2015. "Stockholding in France: the role of financial literacy and information," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(16), pages 1315-1319, November.
    24. repec:dau:papers:123456789/310 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Luc Arrondel & André Masson, 2017. "Why does household demand for shares decline during the crisis? The French case," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 494-495-4, pages 155-177.
    26. Lusardi, Annamaria (ed.), 2009. "Overcoming the Saving Slump," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226497099, September.
    27. Selima Benmansour & Elyès Jouini & Clotilde Napp, 2006. "Is There a Pessimistic Bias in Individual Beliefs? Evidence from a Simple Survey," Post-Print halshs-00163625, HAL.
    28. Luc Arrondel & André Masson, 2014. "Mesurer les préférences des épargnants : comment et pourquoi (en temps de crise) ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 467(1), pages 5-49.
    29. Guiso, Luigi & Sodini, Paolo, 2013. "Household Finance: An Emerging Field," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 1397-1532, Elsevier.
    30. repec:prs:ecstat:estat_0336-1454_2017_num_494_1_10788 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2008. "Trusting the Stock Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 2557-2600, December.
    32. Richard H. Thaler, 2000. "From Homo Economicus to Homo Sapiens," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 133-141, Winter.
    33. Mehra, Rajnish & Prescott, Edward C., 1985. "The equity premium: A puzzle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 145-161, March.
    34. Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Lusardi, Annamaria, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in Germany," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 565-584, October.
    35. repec:dau:papers:123456789/1051 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Elsa Fornero, 2015. "Economic-financial Literacy and (Sustainable) Pension Reforms: Why the Former is a Key Ingredient for the Latter," Bankers, Markets & Investors, ESKA Publishing, issue 134, pages 6-16, January-F.
    37. Selima Mansour & Elyès Jouini & Clotilde Napp, 2006. "Is There a “Pessimisticâ€\x9D Bias in Individual Beliefs? Evidence from a Simple Survey," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 345-362, December.
    38. Arrondel, Luc & Masson, Andre, 2006. "Altruism, exchange or indirect reciprocity: what do the data on family transfers show?," Handbook on the Economics of Giving, Reciprocity and Altruism, in: S. Kolm & Jean Mercier Ythier (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Giving, Altruism and Reciprocity, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 14, pages 971-1053, Elsevier.
    39. Haliassos, Michael & Bertaut, Carol C, 1995. "Why Do So Few Hold Stocks?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(432), pages 1110-1129, September.
    40. Justine S. Hastings & Brigitte C. Madrian & William L. Skimmyhorn, 2013. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Economic Outcomes," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 347-373, May.
    41. Harrison Hong & Jeffrey D. Kubik & Jeremy C. Stein, 2004. "Social Interaction and Stock-Market Participation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(1), pages 137-163, February.
    42. Almenberg, Johan & Säve-Söderbergh, Jenny, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in Sweden," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 585-598, October.
    43. Shizuka Sekita, 2011. "Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Japan," CeRP Working Papers 108, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    44. Leora Klapper & Georgios A. Panos, 2011. "Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in View of a Growing Youth Demographic: The Russian Case," CeRP Working Papers 114, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    45. Crossan, Diana & Feslier, David & Hurnard, Roger, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in New Zealand," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 619-635, October.
    46. Oscar A. Stolper & Andreas Walter, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advice, and financial behavior," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 581-643, July.
    47. M. Debbich, 2015. "Why Financial Advice Cannot Substitute for Financial Literacy?," Working papers 534, Banque de France.
    48. Luigi Guiso & Michael Haliassos & Tullio Jappelli (ed.), 2003. "Stockholding in Europe," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50267-3.
    49. Merton, Robert C, 1969. "Lifetime Portfolio Selection under Uncertainty: The Continuous-Time Case," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 51(3), pages 247-257, August.
    50. Narayana R. Kocherlakota, 1996. "The Equity Premium: It's Still a Puzzle," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(1), pages 42-71, March.
    51. Mark Grinblatt & Matti Keloharju & Juhani Linnainmaa, 2011. "IQ and Stock Market Participation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(6), pages 2121-2164, December.
    52. repec:dau:papers:123456789/1048 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luc Arrondel, 2020. "Financial literacy and French behaviour on the stock market," Working Papers halshs-02505320, HAL.
    2. Oscar A. Stolper & Andreas Walter, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advice, and financial behavior," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 581-643, July.
    3. Zuzana Brokesova & Andrej Cupak & Gueorgui Kolev, 2017. "Financial literacy and voluntary savings for retirement in Slovakia," Working and Discussion Papers WP 10/2017, Research Department, National Bank of Slovakia.
    4. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    5. Tabea Bucher-Koenen & Annamaria Lusardi & Rob Alessie & Maarten van Rooij, 2017. "How Financially Literate Are Women? An Overview and New Insights," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 255-283, July.
    6. Elisabeth Beckmann & Sarah Reiter, 2020. "How financially literate is CESEE? Insights from the OeNB Euro Survey," Focus on European Economic Integration, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q3/20, pages 36-59.
    7. Li, Xiao, 2020. "When financial literacy meets textual analysis: A conceptual review," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    8. Agarwal, Sumit & Amromin, Gene & Ben-David, Itzhak & Chomsisengphet, Souphala & Evanoff, Douglas D., 2015. "Financial literacy and financial planning: Evidence from India," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 4-21.
    9. Luca Spataro & Lorenzo Corsini, 2017. "Endogenous Financial Literacy, Saving, and Stock Market Participation," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 73(2), pages 135-162, June.
    10. Annamaria Lusardi, 2019. "Financial literacy and the need for financial education: evidence and implications," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 155(1), pages 1-8, December.
    11. Azra Zaimovic & Anes Torlakovic & Almira Arnaut-Berilo & Tarik Zaimovic & Lejla Dedovic & Minela Nuhic Meskovic, 2023. "Mapping Financial Literacy: A Systematic Literature Review of Determinants and Recent Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-30, June.
    12. Łukasz Kurowski, 2021. "Household’s Overindebtedness during the COVID-19 Crisis: The Role of Debt and Financial Literacy," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-19, March.
    13. Margherita Fort & Francesco Manaresi & Serena Trucchi, 2016. "Adult financial literacy and households’ financial assets: the role of bank information policies," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 31(88), pages 743-782.
    14. Lin, Chaonan & Hsiao, Yu-Jen & Yeh, Cheng-Yung, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advisors, and information sources on demand for life insurance," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 218-237.
    15. Francisco Gomes & Michael Haliassos & Tarun Ramadorai, 2021. "Household Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 919-1000, September.
    16. Albert Hizgilov & Jacques Silber, 2020. "On Multidimensional Approaches to Financial Literacy Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 787-830, April.
    17. Barrett, Alan & Mosca, Irene & Whelan, Brendan J., 2013. "(Lack of) Pension Knowledge," IZA Discussion Papers 7596, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Xu, Lisa & Zia, Bilal, 2012. "Financial literacy around the world : an overview of the evidence with practical suggestions for the way forward," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6107, The World Bank.
    19. Andrzej Cwynar & Wiktor Cwynar & Monika Baryła-Matejczuk & Moises Betancort, 2019. "Sustainable Debt Behaviour and Well-Being of Young Adults: The Role of Parental Financial Socialisation Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-26, December.
    20. Annamaria Lusardi, 2012. "Numeracy, financial literacy, and financial decision-making," NBER Working Papers 17821, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial literacy; Wealth; Saving; Stock participation puzzle; Propensity to plan;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-01784318. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Caroline Bauer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.