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Who lost the most? Financial Literacy, Cognitive Abilities, and the Financial Crisis

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  • Bucher-Koenen, Tabea
  • Ziegelmeyer, Michael

    (Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA))

Abstract

We study how and to what extent private households are affected by the recent financial crisis and how their financial decisions are influenced by this shock. Our analysis reveals that individuals with low levels of financial literacy are less likely to have invested in the stock market and thus are less likely to report losses in wealth. Yet, individuals with low financial literacy are more likely to sell their assets which lost in value (realize losses). This reaction to short-term losses has potential long-term consequences if individuals do not participate in markets' recovery and face lower returns in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Ziegelmeyer, Michael, 2011. "Who lost the most? Financial Literacy, Cognitive Abilities, and the Financial Crisis," MEA discussion paper series 11234, Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.
  • Handle: RePEc:mea:meawpa:11234
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    2. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    3. Paul W. Grimes & Kevin E. Rogers & William D. Bosshardt, 2021. "Economic Education and Household Financial Outcomes during the Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-12, July.
    4. Dick, Christian D. & Jaroszek, Lena M., 2013. "Knowing what not to do: Financial literacy and consumer credit choices," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-027, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Michael Ziegelmeyer & Julius Nick, 2013. "Backing out of private pension provision: lessons from Germany," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 40(3), pages 505-539, August.
    6. Andrzej Cwynar & Wiktor Cwynar & Monika Baryła-Matejczuk & Moises Betancort, 2019. "Sustainable Debt Behaviour and Well-Being of Young Adults: The Role of Parental Financial Socialisation Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-26, December.
    7. Maria José Roa & Sonia Di Giannatale & Alexander Elbittar, 2015. "Características de personalidad y cognitivas: Efectos sobre el comportamiento de repago," Documentos de Investigación - Research Papers 20, CEMLA.
    8. repec:mea:meawpa:12262 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Lamla, Bettina, 2014. "The long Shadow of Socialism: On East-West German Differences in Financial Literacy," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100585, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Neuenkirch, Edith & Hayo, Bernd, 2015. "The influence of media use on laymen s monetary policy knowledge in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113218, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Bernd Hayo & Edith Neuenkirch, 2018. "The influence of media use on layperson monetary policy knowledge in Germany," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 65(1), pages 1-26, February.
    12. Oberrauch, Luis & Kaiser, Tim, 2022. "Cognitive ability, financial literacy, and narrow bracketing in time-preference elicitation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Lührmann, Melanie & Serra-Garcia, Marta & Winter, Joachim, 2015. "Teaching teenagers in finance: Does it work?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 160-174.
    14. Bucher-Koenen, Tabea & Lusardi, Annamaria, 2011. "Financial literacy and retirement planning in Germany," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 565-584, October.
    15. Francisco J. Oliver-Márquez & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda & Ignacio Amate-Fortes & Diego Martínez-Navarro, 2022. "Is Income Inequality Influenced by Financial Knowledge? A Macroeconomic and Longitudinal Analysis," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 3050-3075, December.
    16. Imad Jabbouri & Rachid Jabbouri, 2021. "Ownership identity and firm performance: Pre‐ and post‐crisis evidence from an African emerging market," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5963-5976, October.
    17. Xu, Lisa & Zia, Bilal, 2012. "Financial literacy around the world : an overview of the evidence with practical suggestions for the way forward," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6107, The World Bank.
    18. Grimes, Paul W. & Lopus, Jane S. & Amidjono, Dwi Sulistyorini, 2022. "Financial life-skills training and labor market outcomes in Indonesia," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    19. Lorenzo Esposito & Lorenzo Marrese, 2021. "The impact of cognitive skills on investment decisions. An empirical assessment and policy suggestions," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0019, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    20. Uuriintuya Batsaikhan & Maria Demertzis, 2018. "Financial literacy and inclusive growth in the European Union," Policy Contributions 25536, Bruegel.
    21. Hugo del Valle-Incl n Cruces, 2019. "Estimating Inequality of Opportunity in More Periods Than Ever Before: The Capital Income Approach," LIS Working papers 764, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    22. repec:mea:meawpa:14282 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Winter, Joachim & Lührmann, Melanie & Serra Garcia, Marta, 2013. "The effects of financial literacy training: Evidence from a field experiment in German high schools," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79744, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    24. Francisco J. Oliver-Márquez & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda & Ignacio Amate-Fortes, 2021. "Measuring financial knowledge: a macroeconomic perspective," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 177-222, February.

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    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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