Many initiatives worldwide aim at improving financial literacy through targeted education programs, yet there is little evidence regarding their effectiveness. We examine the impact of a short financial education program on teenagers in German high schools. Our findings reveal that the training program significantly increases teenagers’ interest in financial matters and their financial knowledge, especially their ability to properly assess the riskiness of assets. Behaviorally, we observe a decrease in the prevalence of self-reported impulse purchases, but at the same time find no evidence of a significant increase in savings.
Authors
Research Fellow Royal Holloway, University of London
Melanie joined the Institute for Fiscal Studies in 2006 as a Research Fellow and she is a Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Marta Serra-Garcia
Journal article details
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.11.009
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- JEL
- A21, D14, I20
- Issue
- December 2014
Suggested citation
M, Lührmann and M, Serra-Garcia and J, Winter. (2014). 'Teaching teenagers in finance: Does it work?' (2014)
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