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Is financial advice a cure-all or the icing on the cake for financial literacy? Evidence from financial market participation in China

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  • Pan, Xuefeng
  • Wu, Weixing
  • Zhang, Xuyang

Abstract

We examine how financial advice interacts with financial literacy to shape household decisions on stock market participation in China. Particularly, we investigate how the effect of financial advice varies with economic expectations, preferences for asset diversification and the level of financial literacy. Feeding the data of 5274 households into a Probit model that predicts the probability of holding stocks, we find that, while an increase in financial literacy significantly raises the stock market participation of all households, seeking financial advice only increases the participation for those households which have a preference for asset diversification or which have an optimistic expectation about the economy. Moreover, the effect of financial advice is concentrated on households with high financial literacy, implying that an insufficient level of financial literacy is the reason for the poor performance of financial advice in China. We also examine if there are influential trust or quality concerns which would reduce the effectiveness of financial advice but we find no significant evidence for it.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Xuefeng & Wu, Weixing & Zhang, Xuyang, 2020. "Is financial advice a cure-all or the icing on the cake for financial literacy? Evidence from financial market participation in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:69:y:2020:i:c:s1057521920301174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101473
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    Cited by:

    1. Yanna He & Muzaffarjon Ahunov, 2022. "Financial Literacy: The Case of China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(5), pages 75-101, September.
    2. Wen, Chufu & Zhao, Xinyu & Xu, Longhao & Yin, Hua, 2023. "Military experience and household stock market participation: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Cruciani, Caterina & Gardenal, Gloria & Rigoni, Ugo, 2021. "Trust-formation processes in financial advisors: A structural equation model," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 185-199.
    4. Tiberius, Victor & Gojowy, Robin & Dabić, Marina, 2022. "Forecasting the future of robo advisory: A three-stage Delphi study on economic, technological, and societal implications," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    5. Zhang, Yong & Lu, Xiaomeng & Xiao, Jing Jian, 2023. "Does financial education help to improve the return on stock investment? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial advice; Financial literacy; Stock market participation; Diversification;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G00 - Financial Economics - - General - - - General
    • G19 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Other

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