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Financial Education between Market and State: Private Commitment, Conflicts of Interest and Public Certification

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  • Carolina Guerini
  • Donato Masciandaro

Abstract

In any country, financial education can be driven by private and public interests. However, in both cases, trade-offs must be addressed and fixed. Private educators can elicit and educate individuals. However, as education is a credence good, quality-disclosure and conflict-of-interest issues can emerge. In parallel, public institutions can act as third-party certifiers, but political incentives that support inaction can produce quality disclosure and conflict-of-interest issues. The aim of the article is to use marketing and economics as complementary methodological tools to offer a general analysis in which financial education is the outcome of both market and state forces. The framework is then applied to the case of Italy where, in recent years, private and public players have proposed financial-education initiatives, while a public certifier has also been active in this field

Suggested Citation

  • Carolina Guerini & Donato Masciandaro, 2023. "Financial Education between Market and State: Private Commitment, Conflicts of Interest and Public Certification," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 23213, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp23213
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial education; financial literacy; trust; education marketing; elicitation; quality disclosure; conflict of interest; third-party certification; political competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • M3 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising

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