LEVEL OF FINANCIAL LITERACY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS: WHAT IS RELEVANT?

Ani Caroline Grigion Potrich, Kelmara Mendes Vieira, Paulo Sergio Ceretta
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5329/RECADM.2013025

Abstract

The present study aimed to verify whether college students are financially literate and whether literacy is affected by socioeconomic and demographic variables. Questionnaires were applied to 534 undergraduate students from universities in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul. The results have indicated that students have a positive financial behavior, but not satisfactory. It has also been found that they do not have well-established habits to save monthly and to maintain a financial reserve for unexpected cases. Although they have adequate financial attitudes, they have showed an unsatisfactory level of financial knowledge, culminating in a moderate degree of financial literacy. The male individuals with higher income brackets and financial training are those with the highest levels of financial literacy. It was also found that financial literacy is positively influenced by variables such us training, occupation, gender and income. This way, the urgent need to develop effective actions to minimize the problem of financial illiteracy has been confirmed.


Keywords

Financial literacy; financial knowledge; financial behavior; financial attitude; college students

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References


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