Financial Literacy of Russian Youth: Current Trends and Transformation of Competencies

The challenges that Russian economy faces affect the financial behavior of citizens and require the transformation in financial literacy. This is especially important for young people, who are exposed to the risks of irrational financial behavior to a greater extent than the adult population. This, in turn, determines the importance of studying the characteristics of financial knowledge and financial behavior of modern Russian youth. We summarize the results of a review of modern academic literature on financial literacy and financial behavior of young people in countries around the world, based on which we develop a model of formation of financial literacy of youth. We present the results of a comparative analysis of the financial competencies of the adult population and young people in Russia and we identify the features of financial knowledge and financial behavior of Russian youth and their consistency with trends in countries worldwide. Based on the results of the study we determine areas for improving existing programs and practices in order to increase the financial literacy of young people in Russia. They include the continuous updating of the formation of financial competencies of young people; the continuous approach to the development of youth’s financial literacy with the possibility of a step-bystep education; the expansion of units on investments and medium- and long-term financial planning in financial literacy programs; the strengthening the behavioral component of programs, focused on the emotional aspects of financial decision-making; the participation of young people in financial consulting of citizens. We also provide examples of current practices of St. Petersburg State University focused on improving the students’ financial literacy.