Financial Literacy Perception Scale for the Portuguese Population

Authors

  • Fernando Oliveira Tavares
  • Eulália Santos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47743/saeb-2020-0015

Keywords:

financial literacy, financial education, financial learning, financial decisions, financial welfare

Abstract

This study aims to propose and validate a financial literacy perception scale for the Portuguese population. The utilized methodology was quantitative, based on a two-part questionnaire survey. The first part studies the sociodemographic profile and the second part evaluates the respondent's perception of financial literacy. The sample consisted of 830 Portuguese individuals, over 18 years old. The main results of this study demonstrate that the financial literacy perception scale presents a tri-factorial structure with satisfactory validity and reliability levels. The three obtained factors are 1-2 years financial planning and goals, long term savings and an affinity for numerical calculation. This study contributes to the increase of scientific knowledge in the field of financial literacy, to the assistance of financial education policymakers in the reformulation of their policies and to the creation of tools to help consumer financial behavior.

JEL Codes - G02; G11; G20

References

Abreu, M., and Mendes, V., 2010. Financial Literacy and Portfolio Diversification. Quantitative Finance, 10(5), 515-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14697680902878105

Anthes, W., 2004. Financial Literacy in America: A perfect storm, a perfect opportunity. Journal of Financial Sevice Professionals, 8(6), 49-56.

Atkinson, A., and Messy, F., 2012. Measuring Financial Literacy: Results of the OECD / International Network on Financial Education (INFE) Pilot Study. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9csfs90fr4-en

Bernheim, B., and Garrett, D., 2003. The Effects of Financial Education in the Workplace: Evidence from a Survey of Households. Journal of Public Economics, 87(7-8), 1487-1519. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(01)00184-0

Calcagno, R., and Monticone, C., 2015. Financial literacy and the demand for financial advice. Journal of Banking & Finance, 50, 363-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.03.013

Cutler, N., and Devlin, S., 2000. Financial Literacy 2000. Journal of the American Society of CLU & ChFC, 50(32), 4.

Edwards, R., Allen, M., and Hayhoe, C., 2007. Financial attitudes and family communication about students' finances: The role of sex differences. Communication Reports, 3(2), 90-100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08934210701643719

Fernandes, D., Lynch, J., and Netemeyer, R., 2014. Financial literacy, financial education, and downstream financial behaviors. Management Science, 60(8), 1861-1883. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2013.1849

Finke, M., Howe, J., and Huston, S., 2016. Old age and the decline in financial literacy. Management Science, 63(1), 213-230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2293

Fonseca, R., Mullen, K. J., Zamarro, G., and Zissimopoulos, J., 2012. What explains the gender gap in financial literacy? The role of household decision making. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(1), 90-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2011.01221.x

Fornell, C., and Larcker, D. F., 1981. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. JMR, Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Fox, J., Bartholomae, S., and Lee, J., 2005. Building the Case for Financial Education. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39(1), 195-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2005.00009.x

Garg, N., and Singh, S., 2018. Financial literacy among youth. International Journal of Social Economics, 45(1), 173-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-11-2016-0303

Gouws, D., and Shuttleworth, C., 2009. Financial literacy: An interface between financial information and decision-makers in organisations. Southern African Business Review, 13(2), 141-165.

Grifoni, A., and Messy, F.-A., 2012. Current Status of National Strategies for Financial Education: A Comparative Analysis and Relevant Practices. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, 16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k9bcwct7xmn-en

Gunther, H., 2006. Pesquisa qualitativa versus pesquisa quantitativa: Esta e a questao? Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa (Brasilia), 22(2), 201-209. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722006000200010

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., and Anderson, R. E., 2014. Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed. ed.). Edinburgh: Pearson.

Huston, S., 2010. Measuring Financial Literacy. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 296-316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01170.x

Klapper, L., Lusardi, A., and Panos, G., 2012. Financial literacy and the financial crisis. NBER Working Paper, 17930.

Kline, R. B., 2015. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (4th ed. ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Knoll, M., and Houts, C., 2012. The financial knowledge scale: An application of item response theory to the assessment of financial literacy. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 46(3), 381-410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2012.01241.x

Lewis, S., and Messy, F., 2012. Financial Education, Savings and Investments: Na literate manager. Accounting Forum, 30, 179-191.

Lusardi, A., 2015. Financial literacy: Do people know the ABCs of finance? Public Understanding of Science (Bristol, England), 24(3), 260-271. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963662514564516

Lusardi, A., and Mitchell, O., 2011. Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 10(4), 509-525. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S147474721100045X

Lusardi, A., and Mitchell, O. S., 2014. The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jel.52.1.5

Lusardi, A., and Tufano, P., 2015. Debt literacy, financial experiences, and overindebtedness. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 14(4), 332-368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1474747215000232

Mandell, L., and Klein, L., 2009. The impact of financial literacy education on subsequent financial behavior. Financial Counseling and Planning, 20(1), 15-24.

Maroco, J., 2014. Analise de equacoes estruturais: Fundamentos teoricos, Software & Aplicacoes (2nd ed. ed.). Lisboa, Portugal: ReportNumber.

Maroco, J., and Garcia-Marques, T., 2006. Qual a fiabilidade do alfa de Cronbach? Questoes antigas e solucoes modernas? Laboratorio de Psicologia, 4(1), 65-90.

Messy, F.-A., and Monticone, C., 2016. Financial Education Policies in Asia and the Pacific. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions, 40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jm5b32v5vvc-en

Monticone, C., 2010. How Much Does Wealth Matter in the Acquisition of Financial Literacy? The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 403-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01175.x

Pacheco, L., Ribeiro, E., and Tavares, F., 2016. Literacia financeira: Estudo aplicado a uma amostra de alunos de uma escola do 3. o ciclo do Ensino Basico e Secundario portugues. Revista População e Sociedade, 26(2), 154-169.

Pallant, J., 2013. SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS for Windows (5th ed. ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Pestana, M. H., and Gageiro, J. N., 2014. Analise de dados em Ciencias Sociais - A complementaridade do SPSS (6th ed. ed.). Lisboa: Silabo.

Potrich, A., Vieira, K., and Kirch, G., 2018. How well do women do when it comes to financial literacy? Proposition of an indicator and analysis of gender differences. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 17, 28-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2017.12.005

Rahmandoust, M., Shah, I., Norouzi, M., Hakimpoor, H., and Khani, N., 2011. Teaching financial literacy to entrepreneurs for sustainable development. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2(12), 61-66.

Ramalho, T. B., 2017. Modelo estrutural de literácia financeira: um estudo sobre o comportamento financeiro de brasileiros considerando grupos com diferentes níveis de conhecimento financeiro e autoconfiança. (Tese de Doutoramento em Administração de Empresas, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie).

Robb, C., Babiarz, P., and Woodyard, A., 2012. The demand for financial professionals' advice: The role of financial knowledge, satisfaction, and confidence. Financial Services Review, 21(4), 291-305.

Tavares, F., Almeida, L., and Cunha, M. N., 2019. Financial Literacy: Study of a University Students Sample. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 14(9), 499-510.

Downloads

Published

2020-06-30

How to Cite

Tavares, F. O., & Santos, E. (2020). Financial Literacy Perception Scale for the Portuguese Population. Scientific Annals of Economics and Business, 67(2), 277–290. https://doi.org/10.47743/saeb-2020-0015

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)