Global Financial Literacy Survey Indicates Room for Improvement
The National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) reports results of its global financial literacy survey and other research conducted in the US and around the world. The NFEC sponsors think tanks, polls, and studies to generate accurate financial capability statistics gathered through rigorous empirical methods. These financial literacy survey data are shared with the media, the general public, and the financial education industry to underscore the need to increase financial literacy worldwide. For instance, they have researched whether people believe financial education should be taught in schools.
View Data from Global Financial Literacy Survey
As an example, look at this survey of 18- to 24-year-olds in the US, who selected “money management” over math, science, or social studies in answer to the question, “What high school-level course would benefit your life the most?” The survey took place July 15-17, 2017, and 5,123 young adults participated.
Using methods similar to the World Bank financial literacy survey, the NFEC asked in its own personal finance survey, “During the past year, about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?” The averaged responses showed losses of $1,171 per year, with close to 7% saying they’d lost over ten grand due to lack of knowledge.
Measure Program Results with World Bank Financial Literacy Survey
When you understand people’s current financial situations, you can measure the results of a financial education program by how those situations change. It’s important to know that a global financial literacy survey may be subject to participant bias. People are emotional about money, so they may not know answers, and may respond to a financial literacy test or question from a position of being overconfident about their financial capabilities or overly pessimistic about personal finances. Either position can introduce bias into the results.
