From Literacy to Liberation: A Policy-Oriented Analysis of Financial Wellbeing in Brazil’s Public Education Sector

Financial literacy is essential for sustainable social and economic development, but several demographics and financial behaviors can influence informed decision-making. In this investigation, we examine the interaction between Financial Literacy (FL) and Financial Wellbeing and Behavior (FWB) across 286 Brazilian education professionals. We employ a two-step approach for analysis: step one is determining the influential demographic variables for Financial Literacy (FL); in step two, FL serves as a primary variable for explaining Financial Wellbeing and Behavior (FWB). We utilize both multiple regressions and supervised machine learning for factor verification for both concepts. The findings show that superior Financial Literacy is a highly significant and substantial positive antecedent of excellent Financial Wellbeing and Behavior ( p < 0.01 ). We also find that a significant gender gap exists in financial knowledge, such that women significantly underperform men on financial literacy tests. Machine learning models confirm that FL is the strongest feature for FWB prediction by far and that gender is the strongest antecedent of a consumer’s level of financial literacy. These findings suggest that policymakers must do more than provide primary financial literacy; they also need to deploy behavioral insights to raise long-term financial freedom and close the gender gap. Upscaling teacher financial literacy is a strategic social sustainability investment that promotes the explicit Sustainable Development Goals, including “Quality Education,” “Gender Equality,” “Decent Work” and “Economic Growth”.