The ABCs of Financial Education: Experimental Evidence on Attitudes, Behavior, and Cognitive Biases

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2819

References

  • Agarwal S, Chomsisengphet S, Mahoney N, Stroebel J (2014) Regulating consumer financial products: Evidence from credit cards. Quart. J. Econom. 130(1):111–164.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Angrist J, Lavy V (2009) The effects of high stakes high school achievement awards: Evidence from a randomized trial. Amer. Econom. Rev. 99(4):1384–1414.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Angrist J, Lang D, Oreopoulos P (2009) Incentives and services for college achievement: Evidence from a randomized trial. Amer. Econom. J.: Appl. Econom. 1(1):136–163.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Ashraf N (2009) Spousal control and intra-household decision making: An experimental study in the Philippines. Amer. Econom. Rev. 99(4):1245–1277.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bandura A, Cervone D (1983) Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivational effects of goal systems. J. Personality Soc. Psych. 45(5):1017–1028.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bartels D, Sussman A (2015) The influence of goal-setting on credit card payment decisions: A first look. Paper presented at IPA Researcher Gathering on Financial Inclusion, May 2015, Innovations for Poverty Action, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
  • Berg G, Zia B (2017) Harnessing emotional connections to improve financial decisions: Evaluating the impact of financial education in mainstream media. J. Eur. Econom. Assoc. 15(5):1025–1055.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bertrand M, Mullainathan S, Shafir E (2006) Behavioral economics and marketing in aid of decision making among the poor. J. Public Policy Marketing 25(1):8–23.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bettinger E (2012) Paying to learn: The effect of financial incentives on elementary school test scores. Rev. Econom. Statist. 94(3):686–698.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bruhn M, Ibarra G, McKenzie D (2014) The minimal impact of a large-scale financial education program in Mexico City. J. Development Econom. 108(May):184–189.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bruhn M, Leao L, Legovini A, Marchetti R, Zia B (2016) The impact of high school financial education: Evidence from a large-scale evaluation in Brazil. Amer. Econom. J.: Appl. Econom. 8(4):256–295.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Bryan JF, Locke EA (1967) Goal setting as a means of increasing motivation. J. Appl. Psych. 51(3):274–277.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Burgess R, Pande R (2005) Do rural banks matter? Evidence from the Indian social banking experiment. Amer. Econom. Rev. 95(3): 780–795.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Carpena F, Cole S, Shapiro J, Zia B (2011) Unpacking the causal chain of financial literacy. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 5798, World Bank, Washington, DC.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Chong A, Karlan D, Valdivia M (2010) Using radio and video as a means for financial education in Peru. Report, Innovations for Poverty Action, New Haven, CT. http://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/using-radio-and-video-means-financial-education-peru.Google Scholar
  • Cole S, Sampson T, Zia B (2011) Prices or knowledge? What drives demand for financial services in emerging markets? J. Finance 66(6):1933–1967.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Cole S, Gine X, Tobacman J, Topalova P, Townsend RM, Vickery J (2013) Barriers to household risk management: Evidence from India. Amer. Econom. J.: Appl. Econom. 5(1):104–135.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Collins JM (2013) The impacts of mandatory financial education: Evidence from a randomized field study. J. Econom. Behav. Organ. 95(November):146–158.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Collins JM, O’Rourke CM (2010) Financial education and counseling–Still holding promise. J. Consumer Affairs 44(3):483–498.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Collins D, Morduch J, Rutherford S, Ruthven O (2009) Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).Google Scholar
  • Dalal A, Morduch J (2010) The psychology of microinsurance: Small changes can make a surprising difference. ILO Microinsurance Paper 5, International Labour Office, Geneva.Google Scholar
  • Doi Y, McKenzie D, Zia B (2014) Who you train matters: Identifying complementary effects of financial education on migrant households. J. Development Econom. 109(C):39–55.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Drexler A, Fischer G, Schoar A (2014) Keeping it simple: Financial literacy and rules of thumb. Amer. Econom. J.: Appl. Econom. 6(2): 1–31.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Duflo E, Saez E (2003) The role of information and social interactions in retirement plan decisions: Evidence from a randomized experiment. Quart. J. Econom. 118(3):815–842.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Dupas P, Robinson J (2013) Savings constraints and microenterprise development: Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya. Amer. Econom. J.: Appl. Econom. 5(1):163–192.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Earley PC, Perry B (1987) Work plan availability and performance: An assessment of task strategy priming on subsequent task completion. Organ. Behav. Human Decision Processes 39(3):279–302.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Fernandes D, Lynch JG Jr, Netemeyer RG (2014) Financial literacy, financial education, and downstream financial behaviors. Management Sci. 60(8):1861–1883.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • Financial Literacy Foundation (2008) Financial literacy: Women understanding money. Report, Financial Literacy Foundation, Parkes, ACT, Australia.Google Scholar
  • Fryer R (2011) Financial incentives and student achievement: Evidence from randomized trials. Quart. J. Econom. 126(4):1755–1798.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Gartner K, Todd RM (2005) Effectiveness of online “early intervention” financial education for credit cardholders. Promises and Pitfalls: As Consumer Finance Options Multiply, Who Is Being Served and at What Cost? Federal Reserve System Community Affairs Research Conference, April 7–8, Washington, DC. Google Scholar
  • Goerg SJ, Kube S (2012) Goals (th)at work: Goals, monetary incentives, and workers’ performance. MPI Collective Goods Preprint 2012/19, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2159663.Google Scholar
  • Harding M, Hsiaw A (2014) Goal setting and energy conservation. J. Econom. Behav. Organ. 107(part A, November):209–227.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Hastings JS, Madrian BC, Skimmyhorn WL (2013) Financial literacy, financial education, and economic outcomes. Annual Rev. Econom. 5:347–373.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Heath C, Larrick R, Wu G (1999) Goals as reference points. Cognitive Psych. 38(1):79–109.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Hsiaw A (2013) Goal setting and self control. J. Econom. Theory 148(2):601–626.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Jamison JC, Karlan D, Zinman J (2014) Financial education and access to savings accounts: Complements or substitutes? Evidence from Ugandan youth clubs. NBER Working Paper 20135, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Kantor P, Nair P (2003) Risks and responses among the urban poor in India. J. Internat. Development 15(8):957–967.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Karlan D, McConnell M, Mullainathan S, Zinman J (2016) Getting to the top of mind: How reminders increase saving. Management Sci. 62(12):3393–3411.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • King AC, Friedman R, Marcus B, Castro C, Napolitano M, Ahn D, Baker L (2007) Ongoing physical activity advice by humans versus computers: The Community Health Advice by Telephone (CHAT) trial. Health Psych. 26(6):718–727.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Koch A, Nafziger J (2011) Goals and psychological accounting. IZA Working Paper 5802, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany.Google Scholar
  • Kremer M, Miguel E, Thornton R (2009) Incentives to learn. Rev. Econom. Statist. 91(3):437–456.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Laibson D (1997) Golden eggs and hyperbolic discounting. Quart. J. Econom. 112(2):443–478.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • LaPorte RE, Nath R (1976) Role of performance goals in prose learning. J. Educational Psych. 68(3):260–264.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Lerman C, Lustbader E, Rimer B, Daly M, Miller S, Sands C, Balshem A (1995) Effects of individualized breast cancer risk counseling: A randomized trial. J. Natl. Cancer Institute 87(4):286–292.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Leuven E, Hessel O, van der Klaauw B (2010) The effect of financial rewards on students’ achievement: Evidence from a randomized experiment. J. Eur. Econom. Assoc. 8(6):1243–1265.Google Scholar
  • Locke EA, Latham GP (2002) Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. Amer. Psychologist 57(9):705–717.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Lusardi A (2015) Financial literacy skills for the 21st century: Evidence from PISA. J. Consumer Affairs 49(3):639–659.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Lusardi A, Mitchell OS (2009) How ordinary consumers make complex economic decisions: Financial literacy and retirement readiness. NBER Working Paper 15350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Lusardi A, Mitchell OS (2014) The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. J. Econom. Literature 52(1):5–44.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Milkman KL, Beshears J, Choi JJ, Laibson D, Madrian BC (2011) Using implementation intentions prompts to enhance influenza vaccination rates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108(26):10415–10420.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Miller M, Reichelstein J, Salas C, Zia B (2015) Can you help someone become financially capable? A meta-analysis of the literature. World Bank Res. Observer 30(2):220–246.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Morduch J (1995) Income smoothing and consumption smoothing. J. Econom. Perspect. 9(3):103–114.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Mullainathan S, Shafir E (2009) Savings policy and decision-making in low-income households. Barr M, Blank R, eds. Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit and Banking Among Low-Income Households (Russell Sage Foundation Press, New York), 121–145.Google Scholar
  • Mullainathan S, Shafir E (2013) Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much (Macmillan, London).Google Scholar
  • Nickerson DW, Rogers T (2010) Do you have a voting plan? Implementation intentions, voter turnout, and organic plan making. Psych. Sci. 21(2):194–199.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Proper KI, Hildebrandt VH, Van der Beek AJ, Twisk JWR, Van Mechelen W (2003) Effect of individual counseling on physical activity fitness and health: A randomized controlled trial in a workplace setting. Amer. J. Preventive Medicine 24(3):218–226.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Rothkopf EZ, Billington MJ (1979) Goal-guided learning from text: Inferring a descriptive processing model from inspection times and eye movements. J. Educational Psych. 71(3):310–327.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Salisbury LC (2014) Minimum payment warnings and information disclosure effects on consumer debt repayment decisions. J. Public Policy Marketing 33(1):49–64.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Shilts MK, Horowitz M, Townsend MS (2004) Goal setting as a strategy for dietary and physical activity behavior change: A review of the literature. Amer. J. Health Promotion 19(2):81–93.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Soman D, Cheema A (2011) Earmarking and partitioning: Increasing saving by low-income households. J. Marketing Res 48(Supplement):S14–S22.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Soman D, Zhao M (2011) The fewer the better: Number of goals and savings behavior. J. Marketing Res. 48(6):944–957.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Thaler RH (1999) Mental accounting matters. J. Behav. Decision Making 12(3):183–206.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Ülkümen G, Cheema A (2011) Framing goals to influence personal savings: The role of specificity and construal level. J. Marketing Res. 48(6):958–969.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Willis LE (2008) Against financial literacy education. Iowa Law Rev. 94(1):197–285.Google Scholar
  • Willis LE (2011) The financial education fallacy. Amer. Econom. Rev. Papers Proc. 101(3):429–434.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • Xu L, Zia B (2012) Financial literacy around the world: An overview of the evidence with practical suggestions for the way forward. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6107, World Bank, Washington, DC.CrossrefGoogle Scholar
INFORMS site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; Others help us improve the user experience. By using this site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Please read our Privacy Statement to learn more.