The DOI matches its Crossref record; 212 of the 212 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence
Open accessAbstract
This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research, which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare, as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy. (JEL A20, D14, G11, I20, J26)
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“supports Lusardi and Mitchell (2014) view that older borrowers possess greater financial maturity.”
From Drivers of willingness to repay Parish Revolving funds (PRF) under Uganda’s Parish Development Model: a Bayesian Latent Class Logistic Regression (LCLR) approach (2026) · cites this paper as Lusardi and Mitchell (2014)
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“Financial literacy programmes reduce information asymmetry by equipping borrowers with knowledge needed to make informed repayment decisions (Hastings et al., 2013;Lusardi & Mitchell, 2014).”
From Drivers of willingness to repay Parish Revolving funds (PRF) under Uganda’s Parish Development Model: a Bayesian Latent Class Logistic Regression (LCLR) approach (2026) · cites this paper as Lusardi & Mitchell, 2014
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“Empirically, financially savvy people are more likely to accumulate wealth (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014).”
From Financial literacy and the need for financial education: evidence and implications (2019) · cites this paper as Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014
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“even though educational attainment is positively correlated with financial literacy, it is not sufficient.”
From Financial literacy and the need for financial education: evidence and implications (2019) · cites this paper as Lusardi and Mitchell (2014)
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“supports Lusardi and Mitchell (2014) view that higher education and financial capability improve financial discipline.”
From Drivers of willingness to repay Parish Revolving funds (PRF) under Uganda’s Parish Development Model: a Bayesian Latent Class Logistic Regression (LCLR) approach (2026) · cites this paper as Lusardi and Mitchell (2014)
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Citations
Cites
Nudge: improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness
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Armstrong, J. S. (1996) · International Journal of Forecasting · doi:10.1016/0169-2070(96)88197-0 · Cited by 9,926
Financial literacy and stock market participation
van Rooij, M., Lusardi, A., & Alessie, R. (2011) · Journal of Financial Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2011.03.006 · Cited by 3,554 · cited 8×
“They found that people’s responses were, indeed, sensitive to how the question was worded in both the U.S. American Life Panel (Lusardi and Mitchell 2009) and the Dutch Central Bank Household Survey (DHS; van Rooij, Lusardi, and Alessie 2011).”
InfluentialSelf-citationThe Power of Suggestion: Inertia in 401(k) Participation and Savings Behavior
Madrian, B. C., & Shea, D. F. (2001) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/003355301753265543 · Cited by 3,119
The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008) · Journal of Economic Literature · doi:10.1257/jel.46.3.607 · Cited by 2,672
The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings
Ben-Porath, Y. (1967) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/259291 · Cited by 2,646
HUSTON, S. J. (2010) · Journal of Consumer Affairs · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01170.x · Cited by 2,558
Utility Analysis and the Consumption Function: An Interpretation of Cross-Section Data
Kurihara, K. K. (2013) · doi:10.4324/9781315016849-27 · Cited by 2,504
Save More Tomorrow™: Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Employee Saving
Thaler, R. H., & Benartzi, S. (2004) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/380085 · Cited by 2,486
Baby Boomer Retirement Security: The Roles of Planning, Financial Literacy, and Housing Wealth
Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2006) · Journal of Monetary Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2006.12.001 · Cited by 2,366
Self-citation
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- Hirad, Abdighani, and Peter Zorn. 2002. "Prepurchase Homeownership Counseling: A Little Knowledge Is a Good Thing." In Low-Income Homeownership: Examining the Unexamined Goal, edited by Nicolas P. Retsinas and Eric S. Belsky, 146-174. Cambridge, Mass.: Joint Center for Housing Studies; Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
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Cited by
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Items 1,001–1,004 of 1,004
Institutional Trust, Risk-Taking, and FinTech Adoption: Evidence from an Emerging Economy
Deák, Z., & Horváth, Á. B. (2026) · FinTech · doi:10.3390/fintech5020027 · Cited by 3
Vital, J. M., Oreta, M. C., Espiritu, M., Ramos, R., & Ramos, S. J. E. (2025) · Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal · doi:10.70838/pemj.411006 · Cited by 1
Factors influencing Parish Revolving Fund lead time under Uganda's Parish Development Model
Nuwagaba, S. S., Mbowa, S., Nakkazi, S. C., & Nakabiri, S. (2026) · Development Policy Review · doi:10.1111/dpr.70089
Nuwagaba, S. S., & Mbowa, S. (2026) · Cogent Economics & Finance · doi:10.1080/23322039.2026.2648932
Metadata
- Authors
- Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S.
- Affiliations
- George Washington University (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Economic Literature
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Published
- 2014-03-01
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5-44
- ISSN
- 0022-0515 (ISSN-L)
- 2328-8175
- PMC
- PMC5450829
- OpenAlex
- W3125685058
- Cited by
- 4,698
- References
- 205
- Citations by year
- 2026: 862 · 2025: 761 · 2024: 572 · 2023: 434 · 2022: 363 · 2021: 380 · 2020: 339 · 2019: 284 · 2018: 216 · 2017: 170 · 2016: 134 · 2015: 111 · 2014: 51
- FWCI
- 656.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Journal of Economic Literature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (U01AG009740)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Financial Literacy and Behavior
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Keywords
- financial literacy, financial knowledge, human capital, financial illiteracy, economic decision-making, financial education policy
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