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The effects of high school personal financial education policies on financial behavior

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  • Urban, Carly
  • Schmeiser, Maximilian
  • Collins, J. Michael
  • Brown, Alexandra

Abstract

High schools in the United States are increasingly requiring their students to complete financial education prior to graduation. This study estimates the effects of these requirements on the credit report outcomes of 18- through 21-year-olds—young people just establishing their financial independence. We find that financial education requirements are associated with fewer defaults and higher credit scores among young adults, but this general finding masks important heterogeneity at the state level. We conclude that well-funded teacher preparation may be key to successfully implementing financial education programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Urban, Carly & Schmeiser, Maximilian & Collins, J. Michael & Brown, Alexandra, 2020. "The effects of high school personal financial education policies on financial behavior," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:78:y:2020:i:c:s0272775718301699
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.03.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Clark, Robert L. & Lin, Chuanhao & Lusardi, Annamaria & Mitchell, Olivia S. & Sticha, Andrea, 2025. "Evaluating the effects of a low-cost, online financial education program," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    2. Falk Bräuning & Joanna Stavins, 2025. "The Credit Card Spending Channel of Monetary Policy: Micro Evidence from Account-level Data," Working Papers 25-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    3. Lusardi, Annamaria & Kaiser, Tim, 2024. "Financial literacy and financial education: An overview," CEPR Discussion Papers 19185, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Pitthan, Francisco & De Witte, Kristof, 2025. "How learning about behavioural biases can improve financial literacy?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
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    6. Nancy Neoyame Chabaefe & Abubaker Qutieshat, 2024. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education and Financial Experience: Conceptual Framework," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 44-55, July.
    7. Alison Preston & Robert E. Wright, 2024. "When Does the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy Begin?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 100(328), pages 44-73, March.
    8. Casiana ILLE, 2021. "Trends And Perspectives On Entrepreneurial Education In Romania And The Eu," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 30(2), pages 54-64, December.
    9. Man Yao & Tori I. Rehr & Erica P. Regan, 2023. "Gender Differences in Financial Knowledge among College Students: Evidence from a Recent Multi-institutional Survey," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 693-713, September.
    10. Luedtke, Allison Oldham & Urban, Carly, 2021. "Do High Schools Choose Financial Education Policies Based on Their Neighbors?," IZA Discussion Papers 14288, IZA Network @ LISER.
    11. Corsini, Lorenzo & Giannelli, Gianna Claudia, 2021. "Economics education and financial literacy acquisition: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    12. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Lin, Weizheng & Chiu, Yi-Hsin, 2025. "The role of happiness in bank risk: An international cross-country analysis," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Dur, Robert & Fleming, Dimitry & van Garderen, Marten & van Lent, Max, 2021. "A social norm nudge to save more: A field experiment at a retail bank," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    14. Urban, Carly, 2022. "Does State-Mandated Financial Education Reduce High School Graduation Rates?," IZA Discussion Papers 15402, IZA Network @ LISER.
    15. Kaiser, Tim & Lusardi, Annamaria & Menkhoff, Lukas & Urban, Carly, 2022. "Financial education affects financial knowledge and downstream behaviors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 255-272.
    16. L’Esperance, Madelaine, 2023. "Nudging credit union members to check their credit: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    17. Maxwell Mensah Okpoti & Williams Kwasi Peprah, 2024. "The Mediating Effect of Financial Literacy on Blockchain Technology Application and Financial Risk: Insight from Ghanaian Professionals towards Policy Recommendations," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 14(6), pages 239-249, October.
    18. J. Michael Collins & Jeff Larrimore & Carly Urban, 2026. "Bank Accounts for Minors: A Pathway to Financial Inclusion or a Dead-End?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 131-160, March.
    19. Sjam, Amelina Apricia, 2025. "Opaque payments, open wallets: The relationship between payment transparency and overspending," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3).
    20. Collins, J. Michael & Urban, Carly, 2025. "The Devil Is in the Details: State-Mandated Personal Finance Education and Financial Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 18268, IZA Network @ LISER.
    21. Manuel Salas-Velasco, 2025. "Non-experimental impact estimates of school financial education exposure on financial literacy outcomes," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 42(2), pages 379-403, July.
    22. Silvia Mariela Méndez-Prado & Vanessa Rodriguez & Kevin Peralta-Rizzo & Patricia Everaert & Martin Valcke, 2023. "An Assessment Tool to Identify the Financial Literacy Level of Financial Education Programs Participants’ Executed by Ecuadorian Financial Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-24, January.
    23. Kaiser, Tim & Oberrauch, Luis, 2021. "Economic education at the expense of indoctrination? Evidence from Germany," EconStor Preprints 245801, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    24. Piza, Caio & Furtado,Isabela & Amorim, Vivian De Fatima, 2023. "Experimental Evaluation of a Financial Education Program in Elementary and Middle School Grades," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10511, The World Bank.
    25. Horia Ioan Tulai & Codruța Maria Făt & Daniela Georgeta, 2021. "The current framework of financial education in Romania in the context of the informational economy," Journal of Financial Studies, Institute of Financial Studies, vol. 10(6), pages 33-47, May.

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