Working Paper: NBER ID: w20793
Authors: Tabea Bucher-Koenen; Annamaria Lusardi; Rob Alessie; Maarten van Rooij
Abstract: We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they do not know the answer. In addition, women give themselves lower scores on financial literacy self-assessments than men. Both young and old women show low levels of financial literacy. Moreover, women for whom financial knowledge is likely to be very important—for example widows or single women—know little about concepts relevant for day-to-day financial decisions. Even women in favorable economic conditions are less financially knowledgeable than men. This is important because financial literacy has been linked to economic behavior, including retirement planning and wealth accumulation. Women live longer than men and are likely to spend time in widowhood. As a result, improving women’s financial literacy is key to helping them prepare for retirement and promoting their financial security.
Keywords: financial literacy; gender differences; retirement planning
JEL Codes: D14; D91
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender (J16) | financial literacy outcomes (G53) |
| gender (J16) | confidence in financial knowledge (G53) |
| financial literacy (G53) | economic behaviors (D22) |
| demographic factors (J11) | financial literacy outcomes (G53) |
| gender + demographic factors (J21) | financial literacy outcomes (G53) |
| age and marital status (J12) | financial literacy outcomes (G53) |