International Handbook Of Financial Literacy

Financial literacy and financial education are not new topics, even though interest in these topics among policymakers, financial authorities, and academics continues to grow. The Routledge Handbook of Financial Literacy provides a comprehensive reference work that addresses both research perspectives and practical applications to financial education. This is the first volume to summarize the milestones of research in financial literacy from multiple perspectives to offer an overview. The book is organized into six parts. The first three parts provide a conceptual framework, which discusses what financial literacy is, how it should be measured, and explains why it represents a relevant topic and effective tool in enhancing decision-making among consumers as well as consumer protection strategies. Part IV addresses the connection between financial education and financial literacy, with chapters about financial education in school settings as well as for adults. This part includes an analysis of the role of Fintech and the use of gamification in financial education. Part V is a collection of contributions that analyze financial literacy and financial education around the world, with a focus on geographical areas including the U.S., South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa. This part also considers how financial literacy should be addressed in the case of Islamic finance. The concluding part of the book examines how financial literacy is related to other possible approaches to consumer finance and consumer protection, addressing the relationships between financial literacy and behavioral economics, financial well-being, and financial inclusion. This volume is an indispensable reference for scholars who are new to the topic, including undergraduate and graduate students, and for experienced researchers who wish to enrich their knowledge, policymakers seeking a broader understanding and an international perspective, and practitioners who seek knowledge of best practices as well as innovative approaches.

This Handbook presents in-depth research conducted on a myriad of issues within the field of financial literacy. Split into six sections, it starts by presenting prevalent conceptions of financial literacy before covering financial literacy in the policy context, the state and development of financial literacy within different countries, issues of assessment and evaluation of financial literacy, approaches to teaching financial literacy, and teacher training and teacher education in financial literacy. In doing so, it provides precise definitions of the construct of financial literacy and elaborates on the state and recent developments of financial literacy around the world, to show ways of measuring and fostering financial literacy and to give hints towards necessary and successful teacher trainings. The book also embraces the diversity in the field by revealing contrasting and conflicting views that cannot be bridged, while at the same time making a contribution by re-joining existing materials in one volume which can be used in academic discourse, in research-workshops, in university lectures and in the definition of program initiatives within the wider field of financial literacy. It allows for a landscape of financial literacy to be depicted which would foster the implementation of learning opportunities for human beings for sake of well-being within financial living-conditions. The Handbook is useful to academics and students of the topic, professionals in the sector of investment and banking, and for every person responsible for managing his or her financial affairs in everyday life.

Financialization has become the go-to term for scholars grappling with the growth of finance. This Handbook offers the first comprehensive survey of the scholarship on financialization, connecting finance with changes in politics, technology, culture, society and the economy. It takes stock of the diverse avenues of research that comprise financialization studies and the contributions they have made to understanding the changes in contemporary societies driven by the rise of finance. The chapters chart the field’s evolution from research describing and critiquing the manifestations of financialization towards scholarship that pinpoints the driving forces, mechanisms and boundaries of financialization. Written for researchers and students not only in economics but from across the social sciences and the humanities, this book offers a decidedly global and pluri-disciplinary view on financialization for those who are looking to understand the changing face of finance and its consequences.

Today's graduates should be grounded in the basics of personal finance and possess the skills and knowledge necessary to make informed decisions and take responsibility for their own financial well-being. Faced with an array of complex financial services and sophisticated products, many graduates lack the knowledge and skills to make rational, informed decisions on the use of their money and planning for future events, such as retirement. This book shows what you can do to improve financial literacy awareness and education. It covers the use of interactive games and tutorials, peer-to-peer mentoring, and financial literacy contests in addition to more formal education. It gives you a sample of approaches and experiences in the financial literacy arena. Divided into three parts, the book covers financial literacy education for grades K–12, college, and post-college.

Throughout the world, the dominant discourse treats “financial literacy” as both necessary and sufficient to improve the well-being of individuals and society. This essay argues that financial literacy is neither, and that promoting financial literacy is a perverse way to address the inadequate retirement funding, overindebtedness, financial crises, and other social ills that have inspired governments and educators to pursue it. In its place, this essay suggests that the aim of financial education ought to be to foster finance-informed citizens, who have the capacity for civic engagement that can create citizen-informed economic policies and financial regulation.

This book provides an overview of current issues associated to financial literacy improvement. In selecting and structuring the material to include, the primary criterion has been applicability of topics and recommendations and accuracy of trends toward better financial literacy level. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular component of financial literacy from education to capability. Throughout the book, there are many practices initiated around the world which, regardless of their superiority, are all useful initiatives and can roll play as a spot light in the road of improvement for both investors and authorities. This book is not only applicable for academics and students, but authorities who aim to improve financial literacy (and subsequently financial capability) among individuals and for those investors who seek to improve their own financial literacy.

College students are particularly vulnerable to making poor financial decisions. One method of addressing personal finances and financial stress among students of higher education is through university based financial education programs. Student Financial Literacy: Program Development presents effective strategies to assist in the implementation or the enhancement of a program as a tool to improve students’ educational experience and financial well-being. It presents the key components of financial education programs designed to address the growing concerns associated with high levels of debt and low levels of financial literacy among college students. “Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development is packed with financial education and counseling information and guidance. It was very difficult to write this review as I wanted to share ALL the excellent direction this book provides... The editors and contributing authors have developed an excellent resource for not only those interested in developing or enhancing a campus-based financial education program but also for anyone involved in financial education, counseling, and planning.” -Rebecca J. Travnichek, Family Financial Education Specialist, University of Missouri Extension Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning

This book explores the issue of consumer financial education, responding to increased interest in, and calls to improve peoples’ financial literacy skills and abilities to understand and manage their money. New conceptual frameworks introduced in the book offer academic audiences an innovative way of thinking about the project on financial literacy education. Using the concepts of ‘edu-regulation’ and ‘financial knowledge democratisation’ to analyse the financial education project in the UK, the book exposes serious, and often ignored, limitations to using information and education as tools for consumer protection. It challenges the mainstream representation of financial literacy education as a viable solution to consumer financial exclusion and poverty. Instead, it argues that the project on financial literacy education fails to acknowledge important dependences between consumer financial behaviour and the socio-economic, political, and cultural context within which consumers live. Finally, it reveals how these international and national calls for ever greater financial education oversimplify and underestimate the complexity of consumer financial decision-making in our modern times.

Since the financial crisis, everyone is more aware of the need to be financially literate. This book covers a wide range of topics and assures the reader that understanding of one’s money script and more particularly making changes (if necessary) would result in more effective and responsible managing and handling of one’s financial affairs. It is a misnomer that graduates of tertiary education are financially literate or are qualified to make financial decisions. In fact, they are particularly vulnerable in making poor financial decisions as many students do not undertake courses in financial education and they therefore have limited financial knowledge. Training in financial literacy through university-based financial education programs is one method of addressing personal finances and financial stress among students. This book presents the key components of financial education designed to address the growing concerns associated with high levels of debt, abuse of credit cards, home ownership, savings and investments, risk management, and retirement. The chapters on entrepreneurship and business planning provide a roadmap for successful new ventures. The book is an excellent resource for students, those interested in developing or enhancing their understanding of money matters and financial wellbeing, and trainers involved in financial education, counseling, and planning.

German Abstract: Überall in der Welt sieht der dominante Diskurs "Finanzbildung“ als notwendig und ausreichend an, um das Wohl Einzelner und der Gesellschaft zu verbessern. In diesem Essay wird argumentiert, dass Finanzbildung weder notwendig noch ausreichend ist und dass die Förderung der Finanzbildung ein abwegiger Ansatz ist, um unzureichende Finanzierung von Renten, Überschuldung, Finanzkrisen und andere soziale Missstände in den Griff zu bekommen, wie es Regierungen und Pädagog_innen von dieser Maßnahme erhofft haben. Stattdessen wird hier angeregt, das Ziel von Finanzbildung darin zu sehen, finanzinformierte Bürger_innen heranzuziehen, die die Fähigkeit zum bürgerschaftlichen Engagement besitzen, das eine von den Bürger_innen bestimmte Wirtschaftspolitik und Finanzregulierung hervorbringen kann.