American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Financial Education Fallacy
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 3, May 2011
(pp. 429–34)
Abstract
Research to date does not demonstrate a causal chain from financial education to welfare-enhancing financial behavior, in part due to biases, heuristics, and emotional influences on decisions. Yet the search for effective financial education continues. But it is time to ask whether giving every person effective financial education would make us better off. Two reasons it might not are discussed here. First, the time, expense, and invasion of privacy required would be enormous. Second, such a world would entail a decrease in individual autonomy. Alternative tools could potentially increase household financial welfare and security at lower social and individual expense.Citation
Willis, Lauren E. 2011. "The Financial Education Fallacy." American Economic Review 101 (3): 429–34. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.3.429JEL Classification
- D14 Personal Finance
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief