A current national concern is the low financial literacy of college students. College students are not receiving the financial knowledge necessary to be successful in today's fast paced economy. Due to an increasingly complex marketplace, college students need greater knowledge about their personal finances and the economy. The financial decisions made early in life create habits difficult to break and affect students' ability to become financially secure adults. Most recent studies show average personal financial scores declining with average scores close to a failing grade. The College Student Financial Literacy Survey (CSFLS) was created to collect data specifically for this study. The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional, on-line survey design study is three fold. First, I investigated the personal financial literacy (knowledge, attitudes and behavior) of a sample of undergraduate and graduate college students using the personal characteristics of gender, class rank, and socioeconomic status (SES). Second, I examined parental and peer influences on the level of financial literacy of college students. Finally, I examined how college students' financial knowledge and attitudes correlated with their financial behavior. The study found that financial knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores were low but that they significantly increased each year from freshman to masters. Further, students who were financially influenced by their parents had higher financial knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores. Finally, students with higher financial knowledge also had higher financial attitude and behavior scores. / Master of Science

In the three chapters of my dissertation, I analyze the individual behaviors including health (vaccination and preventive care) and consumer (financial literacy) behaviors and the corresponding interventions by nonlinear econometric modeling. In the first chapter, I suggest an appropriate econometric model that investigates the effect of paid sick leave on workers' decision to receive the seasonal flu vaccination. For this investigation, I apply a Bayesian non-linear structural regression model with one-outcome and two-endogenous equations. The results of my estimation indicate that having paid sick leave affects workers' vaccination decisions differently based on their income levels. Low-income workers are willing to be vaccinated because they perceive the high cost of claiming paid sick leave. However, high-income workers are willing to be vaccinated because paid sick leave reduces the cost of vaccination for seasonal flu. In the second chapter, I suggest new econometric regression models that investigate the effect of "Don't Know" or "Refuse" (DK/RF) responses on parameter identification. I estimate the effect of group characteristics and financial education on the level of young respondents' objective financial knowledge and find the actual effects and biases by my suggested models. This study examines six questions about personal finance and selects covariates in the 2015 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). Because these questions include DK/RF responses, a simple regression model that does not consider DK/RF responses could lead to misleading conclusions, such as gender/income difference and educational effectiveness in schools. In the last chapter, I investigate the effect of three health-related interventions including a doctor's recommendation, information about human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV vaccination, on the misuse of cervical cancer screening including too-early screening, unnecessary HPV test, annual Pap test, and no Pap smear that are not recommended for women younger than 30 years. I examine the National Health Interview Survey conducted in 2015 and applies binary and multinomial logistic regression models. From the estimation result, I observe that doctor's recommendation plays a significant role in increasing the probability of receiving cervical cancer screening while it induces the too-early screening, unnecessary HPV testing, and overuse of Pap smears. / Ph. D.

Playing video games is a common hobby for many Swedish teenagers. Bystanders might think that excessive exposure to video games will cause harm for the youth, but what is lesser known is that the games can help develop several cognitive functions. For example, many of the popular games today have an economic dimension to them, where players will need to learn the proper way to manage their money in a certain game. With this in mind, is there a possible correlation between the amount of time spent playing video games and financial capability? This study examines that question with a quantitative approach. A survey was sent out to swedish high school students, asking them questions about their habits in regards to video games as well as questions to measure their financial capability. The findings point towards a slightly negative correlation between hours spent per week playing video games and the students financial capability. The lowest negative number was from Spearman’s rho - 0.214, and was found in the attribute positive financial behaviour. Important to note is that the significance from the p-values has indicated that the results are not significant. Apart from the analysis, the pivot tables that showcased the answers from the survey exhibited some interesting patterns for the group that played more than 15 hours per week. For example, the object scenario shows that 15 of 39 respondents would choose an aesthetic non-functional item insted of an item which has a functional advantage in the game. These patterns could be researched further under different circumstances than the current study. / Playing video games is a common hobby for many Swedish teenagers. Bystanders might think that excessive exposure to video games will cause harm for the youth, but what is lesser known is that the games can help develop several cognitive functions. For example, many of the popular games today have an economic dimension to them, where players will need to learn the proper way to manage their money in a certain game. With this in mind, is there a possible correlation between the amount of time spent playing video games and financial capability? This study examines that question with a quantitative approach. A survey was sent out to swedish high school students, asking them questions about their habits in regards to video games as well as questions to measure their financial capability. The findings point towards a slightly negative correlation between hours spent per week playing video games and the students financial capability. The lowest negative number was from Spearman’s rho - 0.214, and was found in the attribute positive financial behaviour. Important to note is that the significance from the p-values has indicated that the results are not significant. Apart from the analysis, the pivot tables that showcased the answers from the survey exhibited some interesting patterns for the group that played more than 15 hours per week. For example, the object scenario shows that 15 of 39 respondents would choose an aesthetic non-functional item insted of an item which has a functional advantage in the game. These patterns could be researched further under different circumstances than the current study.

Bibliographic citation Kahounová, Jana (2012). Czech Pension Reform through the Lens of Behavioral Economics. Prague, 2012. 79 p. Master Thesis (Mgr.) Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies. Master thesis supervisor PhDr. Michal Bauer, PhD. Abstract The field of behavioral economics can provide original insights into many areas of economic decision-making. In my thesis I use the point of view of behavioral economics to assess the current Czech pension reform plan. I study time discounting as the main determinant of saving behavior and deal with its relationship to the Czech pension reform architecture. The three fundamental features of the Czech pension reform plan that are examined are entry into the private funded scheme that is to be introduced by the Czech pension reform plan, the contribution rate into the private funded scheme and access to deposits in the private funded scheme. In order to obtain data for my research I conducted own survey. The results of statistical analysis confirmed the hypotheses of behavioral economics that people exhibit heterogeneous time discounting which influences their saving behavior and these characteristics can also determine their preference for the pension reform features. It implies a possibility for policy-makers to...

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies & Human Services / Sonya L. Britt / Briana S. Nelson-Goff / The current three essay dissertation researched the financial behaviors of military service members before and after deployment using primary data collected at a Midwestern U.S. Army installation. The introduction (Chapter 1) reviewed the two financial surveys administered to Soldiers before (N = 701) and after (N = 670) they left for a yearlong deployment to a war zone. The first essay (Chapter 2) explored the financial behaviors, financial knowledge, and financial anxiety as they relate to rank and deployment. The results suggested that financial behaviors after deployment (Time 2) were significantly better than financial behaviors before deployment (Time 1). Rank had a positive effect on increased subjective financial knowledge where all ranks above privates (E1 to E2) had greater financial knowledge. Privates first class, specialists, and corporals (E3 to E4) had significantly lower financial knowledge than their direct supervisors, sergeants and staff sergeants (E5 to E6). Finally, Soldiers reported more financial anxiety before deployment (Time 1) than after deployment (Time 2). Using the framework of social learning theory, the second essay (Chapter 3) expanded the research of military financial behaviors before deployment to more fully understand stress and other factors that influence financial behavior outcomes. Results suggested that past behaviors and some personal factors played a significant role in Soldiers’ financial behaviors. Higher levels of subjective financial knowledge, more internal locus of control, and lower levels of financial anxiety all had a positive effect on financial behavior outcomes. The past behaviors variable had the most explanatory value in Soldiers’ financial behaviors before deployment. Soldiers with any amount of credit card debt had worse financial behaviors compared to Soldiers with no credit card debt, while Soldiers with greater amounts of emergency financial savings were more likely to have better financial behaviors than those who did not have any emergency financial savings. The final essay (Chapter 4) studied the factors that influenced financial behavior outcomes of both Soldiers and college students. This essay used primary data from a college student sample to compare to the before deployment (Time 1) survey data of Soldiers. Findings reported that past behaviors and some personal factors played a significant role in the financial behavior outcomes. Soldiers and college students with higher levels of subjective financial knowledge, more internal locus of control, and lower financial anxiety reported positive financial behaviors The most explanatory concept was that of past behaviors, which revealed that participants with no credit card debt had better financial behaviors compared to respondents who had any level of credit card debt. The conclusion (Chapter 5) highlights the findings of all three essays, which contribute both to the financial behavior literature. These papers also contribute to the research on the personal financial matters of service members. The research has direct implications for policy makers, military leaders, service providers, and financial planners and counselors.

Köpprocessen vid köp av finansiella produkter skiljer sig mot andra typer av köp då det är mer komplext och kan kräva ett större engagemang från konsumenten. Tidigare studier visar att finansiell kunskap har en påverkan på involveringen vid finansiell informationssökning då konsumenter med låg kunskap tenderar att lämna över ansvaret till någon annan. Det gör att produktägare måste anpassa sin marknadsföring för att nå ut till de som inte aktivt söker information själva. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka hur subjektiv finansiellkunskap påverkar involveringen vid finansiell informationssökning för att bidra till en ökad förståelse för finansiellt köp beteende. Studien baseras på en kvantitativ undersökning med 145 deltagare. Resultatet visar att en ökad subjektiv kunskap har en signifikant betydelse för en ökad involvering vid finansiellinformationssökning. Resultatet visar även att män och personer med högre inkomst har en högre involvering. Denna forskning utökar tidigare studier inom ämnet och kan användas av finansiella produktägare för att forma deras marknadsföring. / The consumer purchasing process for financial products differs from other types of purchases as it is more complex and may require greater consumer involvement. Previous studies show that financial knowledge has an impact on involvement in financial information seeking, as consumers with low knowledge tend to pass on the responsibility to someone else. This means that product owners must adapt their marketing to reach those who are not actively seeking information themselves. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine how subjective knowledge affects the involvement in financial information search in order to contribute to an increased understanding of financial purchasing behaviour. The study is based on a quantitative approach including 145 participants. The result shows that increased subjective knowledge has a significant impact on the increased involvement in financial information search. It also shows that men and people with higher income have a higher degree of involvement. This research is extending previous studies on the subject and can be used by financial product owners to shape their marketing strategy. The following study will be presented in Swedish.

This study compares the financial knowledge of Korean (N = 1006) and German (N = 1346) university students. The country-specific adaptations of the US-American Test of Financial Literacy was used to assess financial knowledge. Financial knowledge can be divided into three areas (everyday money management; banking; insurance). German students show a slightly higher knowledge of everyday money management and insurance. Korean students tend to be stronger in the area banking. The paper examines the impact of gender on financial knowledge and the role of financial information gathering. A gender difference is determined in Germany, but not in Korea. Male students in Germany score higher than female students. An analysis of variance shows that Korean as well as German students who inform themselves more frequently about financial topics achieve a higher financial knowledge score. The article shows that it is possible to validly measure financial knowledge in Germany and Korea, which have different economic systems.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This study had as its objective develop a model to evaluate the level of financial literacy of citizens in the South of Brazil, able to integrate constructs related to financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behavior. To achieve the objective, a survey with 1.576 inhabitants of the seven mesoregions in Rio Grande do Sul has been done. A questionnaire has been adopted as an instrument to collect data and it is formed by seventy-five questions and approaches socioeconomic and demographic variables and three constructs (financial attitude, financial behavior and financial knowledge). The model estimated by structural equation modeling and sociable and demographic variables influence have been measured by parametric hypothesis tests. Results have shown that from the thirty-seven initial variables for financial attitude and financial behavior constructs, eight have been validated. From the two structural models proposed, the one with the best adjustment and that measured financial literacy better was the second order factorial, where constructs financial attitude, financial knowledge and financial behavior have been maintained separately and financial literacy has turned into a second order construct. The constructs descriptive statists has shown an adequate level of financial attitude and intermediate levels of financial behavior for citizens in Rio Grande do Sul. Hypothesis tests have pointed out to significant differences among the three constructs, where the variable age has not shown any difference among groups. Furthermore, the most relevant aspects to financial literacy are related to concern about the future and saving money monthly. / O presente estudo buscou desenvolver um modelo para avaliar o nível de alfabetização financeira dos cidadãos rio-grandenses, capaz de integrar os construtos relativos ao conhecimento financeiro, à atitude financeira e ao comportamento financeiro. Para isso, realizou-se uma pesquisa survey com 1.576 habitantes das sete mesorregiões do Rio Grande do Sul. Como instrumento de coleta de dados adotou-se um questionário estruturado, composto por setenta e cinco questões, que abordaram variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas e três construtos (ATITUDE FINANCEIRA, COMPORTAMENTO FINANCEIRO e CONHECIMENTO FINANCEIRO). O modelo estimado pela modelagem de equações estruturais e a influência das variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas foram mensuradas pelos testes de hipóteses paramétricos. Os resultados demonstraram que das trinta e sete variáveis iniciais dos construtos ATITUDE FINANCEIRA e COMPORTAMENTO FINANCEIRO, oito foram validadas. Já dos dois modelos estruturais propostos, o modelo com melhor ajuste e que melhor mensura a alfabetização financeira foi o modelo fatorial de segunda ordem, em que os construtos ATITUDE FINANCEIRA, COMPORTAMENTO FINANCEIRO e CONHECIMENTO FINANCEIRO foram mantidos separadamente e a ALFABETIZAÇÃO FINANCEIRA tornou-se um construto de segunda ordem. A estatística descritiva dos construtos demonstrou um nível adequado de atitude financeira e níveis intermediários de comportamento e conhecimento financeiros nos habitantes do Rio Grande do Sul. Os testes de hipóteses apontaram diferenças significativas nos três construtos, sendo que apenas a variável idade não apresentou diferença entre os grupos. Além disso, os aspectos mais relevantes para a alfabetização financeira são os relativos à preocupação com o futuro e à realização de reservas financeiras mensais.

The current financial crisis draws attention to the level of financial education among citizens. This thesis maps projects which are focused on financial education of the citizens of the Czech Republic. Based on the information found after a close study of projects focused on financial education, a necessity to develop a new financial education project. A project which is suitable for the current needs and reflects gaps of the studied projects. New project would be created for a non-profit organization.