Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP18646
Authors: Laura Hospido; Nagore Iriberri; Margarita Machelett
Abstract: Gender gaps in financial literacy are pervasive and persistent. They are partly explained because women choose “I do not know” more frequently. We test for the effectiveness of three interventions to shift this behavior. The control survey includes the possibility of “I do not know". The three treatments either exclude this possibility, offer incentives for correct answers, or inform survey takers of the existing gender gap in choosing this answer option. While all interventions are very effective in reducing this answer option, only the information significantly reduces the gender gap in “I do not know” and in financial literacy.
Keywords: financial literacy; gender gaps; survey methods
JEL Codes: C8; C9; D14; D91; G53; I22; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Control group allowing 'I do not know' (D80) | significant gender gap in financial literacy (G53) |
| Propensity to choose IDK (D80) | significant gender gap in financial literacy (G53) |
| Removal of IDK option (Y70) | IDK responses eliminated (D83) |
| Removal of IDK option (Y70) | overall financial literacy scores (G53) |
| Incentives for correct answers (J33) | IDK responses (D89) |
| Incentives for correct answers (J33) | gender gap in financial literacy (G53) |
| Information treatment about gender gap (J16) | gender gap in financial literacy (G53) |