Does Cognitive Reflection Matter for Economic Literacy?

Economic literacy is an important competence in contemporary societies, as individuals are increasingly exposed to economic information that affects everyday decisions, public debates and understanding of economic policies. This paper examines whether cognitive reflection predicts economic literacy among sample. The study is based on a quantitative cross-sectional survey. Economic literacy was measured with a short seven-item economic knowledge test, while cognitive reflection was measured using the six-item CRT-Long. The empirical analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, group comparisons and hierarchical multiple regression. Results showed a moderate positive association between cognitive reflection and economic knowledge. Hierarchical regression indicated that CRT-Long explained substantial additional variance beyond demographic characteristics, income, interest in economics and prior exposure to economic education. The findings suggest that economic knowledge is not only an educational outcome, but may reflect underlying cognitive abilities.