American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Impact of High School Financial Education: Evidence from a Large-Scale Evaluation in Brazil
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 8,
no. 4, October 2016
(pp. 256–95)
Abstract
We study the impact of a comprehensive high school financial education program spanning 6 states, 892 schools, and approximately 25,000 students in Brazil through a randomized control trial. The program increased student financial proficiency by a quarter of a standard deviation and raised grade-level passing rates. Short-term financial behaviors, however, show mixed results with significant improvements in students' savings and budgeting as well as positive spillovers to parents, but also an increase in students' use of expensive credit to make consumer purchases.Citation
Bruhn, Miriam, Luciana de Souza Leão, Arianna Legovini, Rogelio Marchetti, and Bilal Zia. 2016. "The Impact of High School Financial Education: Evidence from a Large-Scale Evaluation in Brazil." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 8 (4): 256–95. DOI: 10.1257/app.20150149Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D14 Household Saving; Personal Finance
- I21 Analysis of Education
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O16 Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance