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Testing the gender gap in subjective financial literacy of spouses

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  • Marie-Hélène BROIHANNE

    (LaRGE Research Center, Université de Strasbourg)

Abstract

This article examines the gender gap in subjective financial literacy of retail clients of a large European bank. Using a database of banking records and questionnaire answers of more than 50,000 retail clients, the gender gap in subjective financial literacy was found to be significantly higher for individuals living as part of a couple. To distinguish the respective impact of financial responsibility and subjective literacy between partners in households, the study was based on 7,382 dual-income couples for which data was matched since spouses hold a joint bank account. The findings suggest that the gender gap in subjective financial literacy between spouses is reduced because of couple consensus during spouses' joint decision-making. As 70% of couples exhibit no gender gap in subjective financial literacy, the couple characteristics that explain either a classical or an inverse subjective financial literacy gender gap are identified. We show that the heterogeneity in the gender gap in subjective financial literacy of couples is related to that of spouses' financial management styles.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie-Hélène BROIHANNE, 2021. "Testing the gender gap in subjective financial literacy of spouses," Working Papers of LaRGE Research Center 2021-08, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie (LaRGE), Université de Strasbourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lar:wpaper:2021-08
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Subjective financial literacy; Gender gap; Spouses' financial decision-making; Spouse dominance; Financial management styles.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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