IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/crp/wpaper/169.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

“Gender Differences in Financial Education: Evidence from Primary School”

Author

Listed:
  • Flavia Coda Moscarola

    (Collegio Carlo Alberto)

  • Matteo Migheli

    (University of Turin)

Abstract

Today, financial and economic education is a primary issue in academia and among policy makers, and there is great interest towards programmes that are able to boost it. In this paper, we test whether a programme (“treatment”) of financial education on savings, targeted to children aged 8 and 9 is effective and to what extent. We measure the interest rate required by the children before and after the treatment to accept postponing a reward, computing its variation and comparing this with that of a control group. We find evidence that the overall initiative is helpful in decreasing the level of impatience of children and the number of inconsistent choices of boys. Our findings invite to reflect on the gender neutrality of programmes of financial education.

Suggested Citation

  • Flavia Coda Moscarola & Matteo Migheli, 2017. "“Gender Differences in Financial Education: Evidence from Primary School”," CeRP Working Papers 169, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    • Handle: RePEc:crp:wpaper:169
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cerp.carloalberto.org/gender-differences-financial-education-evidence-primary-school/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jordi Brandts & Gary Charness, 2011. "The strategy versus the direct-response method: a first survey of experimental comparisons," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 14(3), pages 375-398, September.
    2. Daniel Fernandes & John G. Lynch & Richard G. Netemeyer, 2014. "Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Downstream Financial Behaviors," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(8), pages 1861-1883, August.
    3. Michal Bauer & Julie Chytilová, 2013. "Women, Children and Patience: Experimental Evidence from Indian Villages," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(4), pages 662-675, November.
    4. Boggio, Cecilia & Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Gallice, Andrea, 2020. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Armin Falk & James J. Heckman, 2009. "Lab Experiments are a Major Source of Knowledge in the Social Sciences," Working Papers 200935, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    6. Matthias Sutter & Martin G. Kocher & Daniela Glätzle-Rützler & Stefan T. Trautmann, 2013. "Impatience and Uncertainty: Experimental Decisions Predict Adolescents' Field Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 510-531, February.
    7. Bruce Ian Carlin & David T. Robinson, 2012. "What Does Financial Literacy Training Teach Us?," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 235-247, July.
    8. Strulik, Holger, 2012. "Patience and prosperity," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(1), pages 336-352.
    9. John Y. Campbell & Howell E. Jackson & Brigitte C. Madrian & Peter Tufano, 2011. "Consumer Financial Protection," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 91-114, Winter.
    10. van Rooij, Maarten & Lusardi, Annamaria & Alessie, Rob, 2011. "Financial literacy and stock market participation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 449-472, August.
    11. Steffen Andersen & Glenn W. Harrison & Morten I. Lau & E. Elisabet Rutström, 2008. "Eliciting Risk and Time Preferences," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(3), pages 583-618, May.
    12. Gary S. Becker & Casey B. Mulligan, 1997. "The Endogenous Determination of Time Preference," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 729-758.
    13. 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.
    14. Lusardi, Annamaria & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2007. "Baby Boomer retirement security: The roles of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 205-224, January.
    15. Brugiavini, Agar & Cavapozzi, Danilo & Padula, Mario & Pettinicchi, Yuri, 2015. "Financial education, literacy and investment attitudes," SAFE Working Paper Series 86, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2015.
    16. Cecilia Boggio & Elsa Fornero & Henriette Prast & Jose Sanders, 2014. "Seven Ways to Knit Your Portfolio: Is Investor Communication Neutral?," CeRP Working Papers 140, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    17. Maarten C.J. van Rooij & Annamaria Lusardi & Rob J.M. Alessie, 2012. "Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning and Household Wealth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(560), pages 449-478, May.
    18. Leonardo Becchetti & Stefano Caiazza & Decio Coviello, 2011. "Financial education and investment attitudes in high schools: evidence from a randomized experiment," CEIS Research Paper 210, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 07 Sep 2011.
    19. Steffen Andersen & Glenn Harrison & Morten Lau & E. Rutström, 2009. "Elicitation using multiple price list formats," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 12(3), pages 365-366, September.
    20. Stefano DellaVigna & M. Daniele Paserman, 2005. "Job Search and Impatience," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(3), pages 527-588, July.
    21. Chan, Kara & McNeal, James U., 2006. "Chinese children's understanding of commercial communications: A comparison of cognitive development and social learning models," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 36-56, February.
    22. Bucciol, Alessandro & Houser, Daniel & Piovesan, Marco, 2011. "Temptation and productivity: A field experiment with children," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 126-136.
    23. Angela Romagnoli & Maurizio Trifilidis, 2015. "Does Financial Education at School work? Evidence from Italy," Rivista Bancaria - Minerva Bancaria, Istituto di Cultura Bancaria Francesco Parrillo, issue 1, January -.
    24. 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.
    25. repec:ecj:econjl:v:122:y:2012:i::p:449-478 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Bettinger, Eric & Slonim, Robert, 2007. "Patience among children," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 343-363, February.
    27. Powell, Melanie & Ansic, David, 1997. "Gender differences in risk behaviour in financial decision-making: An experimental analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 605-628, November.
    28. Bucciol, Alessandro & Piovesan, Marco, 2011. "Luck or cheating? A field experiment on honesty with children," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 73-78, February.
    29. Otto, Annette M.C. & Schots, Paul A.M. & Westerman, Joris A.J. & Webley, Paul, 2006. "Children's use of saving strategies: An experimental approach," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 57-72, February.
    30. Roos, V. & Chiroro, P. & van Coppenhagen, C. & Smith, I. & van Heerden, E. & Abdoola, R.E. & Robertson, K. & Beukes, C., 2005. "Money adventures: Introducing economic concepts to preschool children in the South African context," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 243-254, April.
    31. Leiser, David & Beth Halachmi, Reut, 2006. "Children's understanding of market forces," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 6-19, February.
    32. Stephan Meier & Charles Sprenger, 2007. "Selection into financial literacy programs: evidence from a field study," Public Policy Discussion Paper 07-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    33. Charles A. Holt, 1999. "Teaching Economics with Classroom Experiments: A Symposium," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(3), pages 603-610, January.
    34. Raquel Fonseca & Kathleen J. Mullen & Gema Zamarro & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2012. "What Explains the Gender Gap in Financial Literacy? The Role of Household Decision Making," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 90-106, March.
    35. Curtis J. Simon & John T. Warner & Saul Pleeter, 2015. "Discounting, Cognition, And Financial Awareness: New Evidence From A Change In The Military Retirement System," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(1), pages 318-334, January.
    36. Bahry, Donna L. & Wilson, Rick K., 2006. "Confusion or fairness in the field? Rejections in the ultimatum game under the strategy method," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 37-54, May.
    37. Michael Batty & J. Michael Collins & Elizabeth Odders-White, 2015. "Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Financial Education on Elementary School Students' Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitudes," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 69-96, March.
    38. Lalith Munasinghe & Nachum Sicherman, 2006. "Why Do Dancers Smoke? Smoking, Time Preference, and Wage Dynamics," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 595-616, Fall.
    39. Sule Alan & Seda Ertac, 2015. "Good Things Come to Those Who (Are Taught How to) Wait: Results from a Randomized Educational Intervention on Time Preference," Working Papers 2015-003, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    40. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    41. Ray Boshara & William R. Emmons, 2015. "A Balance Sheet Perspective on Financial Success: Why Starting Early Matters," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 267-298, March.
    42. Migheli, Matteo, 2014. "Preferences for government interventions in the economy: Does gender matter?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 39-48.
    43. Anita I. Drever & Elizabeth Odders-White & Charles W. Kalish & Nicole M. Else-Quest & Emily M. Hoagland & Emory N. Nelms, 2015. "Foundations of Financial Well-Being: Insights into the Role of Executive Function, Financial Socialization, and Experience-Based Learning in Childhood and Youth," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 13-38, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Boggio, Cecilia & Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Gallice, Andrea, 2020. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Kaiser, Tim & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2020. "Financial education in schools: A meta-analysis of experimental studies," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Carlsson Hauff, Jeanette & Hermansson, Cecilia, 2023. "“Buy him some Tesla stocks for his baptism”: Gender differences among young savers," Working Paper Series 23/12, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance, revised 19 Sep 2024.
    4. Adriaan Kalwij & Rob Alessie & Milena Dinkova & Gea Schonewille & Anna van der Schors & Minou van der Werf, 2019. "The Effects of Financial Education on Financial Literacy and Savings Behavior: Evidence from a Controlled Field Experiment in Dutch Primary Schools," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 699-730, September.
    5. Zhou, Yang & Yang, Manfang & Gan, Xu, 2023. "Education and financial literacy: Evidence from compulsory schooling law in China," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 335-346.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tim Kaiser & Lukas Menkhoff, 2017. "Does Financial Education Impact Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior, and If So, When?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(3), pages 611-630.
    2. Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Migheli, Matteo, 2015. "Educating Children to Save: an Experimental Approach to Financial Education of Pupils in Primary Schools," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201502, University of Turin.
    3. Melanie Lührmann & Marta Serra-Garcia & Joachim Winter, 2018. "The Impact of Financial Education on Adolescents' Intertemporal Choices," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 309-332, August.
    4. Boggio, Cecilia & Coda Moscarola, Flavia & Gallice, Andrea, 2020. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Oscar A. Stolper & Andreas Walter, 2017. "Financial literacy, financial advice, and financial behavior," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(5), pages 581-643, July.
    6. Cordero, José Manuel & Gil, María & Pedraja Chaparro, Francisco, 2016. "Exploring the effect of financial literacy courses on student achievement: a cross-country approach using PISA 2012 data," MPRA Paper 75474, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Manuel Salas‐Velasco & Dolores Moreno‐Herrero & José Sánchez‐Campillo, 2021. "Teaching financial education in schools and students' financial literacy: A cross‐country analysis with PISA data," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 4077-4103, July.
    8. Sconti, Alessia, 2022. "Digital vs. in-person financial education: What works best for Generation Z?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 300-318.
    9. Grohmann, Antonia & Hübler, Olaf & Kouwenberg, Roy & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2021. "Financial literacy: Thai middle-class women do not lag behind," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    10. Lusardi, Annamaria & Kaiser, Tim, 2024. "Financial literacy and financial education: An overview," CEPR Discussion Papers 19185, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Tabea Bucher-Koenen & Annamaria Lusardi & Rob Alessie & Maarten van Rooij, 2017. "How Financially Literate Are Women? An Overview and New Insights," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 255-283, July.
    12. Zhou, Yang & Yang, Manfang & Gan, Xu, 2023. "Education and financial literacy: Evidence from compulsory schooling law in China," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 335-346.
    13. Angel, Stefan, 2018. "Smart tools? A randomized controlled trial on the impact of three different media tools on personal finance," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 104-111.
    14. Nolan, Anne & Whelan, Adele & McGuinness, Seamus & Maître, Bertrand, 2019. "Gender, pensions and income in retirement," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS87.
    15. Bannier, Christina E. & Schwarz, Milena, 2018. "Gender- and education-related effects of financial literacy and confidence on financial wealth," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 66-86.
    16. Sule Alan & Seda Ertac, 2015. "Good Things Come to Those Who (Are Taught How to) Wait: Results from a Randomized Educational Intervention on Time Preference," Working Papers 2015-003, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    17. Bu, Di & Hanspal, Tobin & Liao, Yin & Liu, Yong, 2020. "Financial literacy and self-control in FinTech: Evidence from a field experiment on online consumer borrowing," SAFE Working Paper Series 273, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    18. Angelo Baglioni & Luca Colombo & Giulio Piccirilli, 2018. "On the Anatomy of Financial Literacy in Italy," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 47(2-3), pages 245-304, July.
    19. Entorf, Horst & Hou, Jia, 2018. "Financial education for the disadvantaged? A review," SAFE Working Paper Series 205, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    20. Marie-Hélène BROIHANNE, 2021. "Testing the gender gap in subjective financial literacy of spouses," Working Papers of LaRGE Research Center 2021-08, Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie (LaRGE), Université de Strasbourg.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • G02 - Financial Economics - - General - - - Behavioral Finance: Underlying Principles

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:crp:wpaper:169. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Silvia Maero (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cetorit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.