Abstract
Financial literacy and cognitive capabilities are convincingly linked to the quality of financial decision-making. Yet, there is little evidence that education intended to improve financial decision-making is successful. Using plausibly exogenous variation in exposure to state-mandated personal finance and mathematics high school courses, affecting millions of students, this paper answers the question “Can high school graduation requirements impact financial outcomes?” The answer is yes, although not via traditional personal finance courses, which we find have no effect on financial outcomes. Instead, we find additional mathematics training leads to greater financial market participation, investment income, and better credit management, including fewer foreclosures.
- Received January 2013.
- Accepted March 2015.
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Log in using your username and password
Purchase access
In this issue
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- The Impact of High School Financial Education on Financial Knowledge and Saving Choices: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Spain
- Financial Capability, Financial Education, and Student Loan Debt: Expected and Unexpected Results
- Financial Education, Mathematical Confidence, and Financial Behavior
- Everybody Dies: Financial Education and Basic Estate Planning
- Student Loans and Financial Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Financial Education
- Financial Education and Financial Attitudes: Evidence From a High School Experiment
- Combining Financial Education With Mathematics Coursework: Findings From a Pilot Study
- Saving Education Received in Early Life and Future Orientation in Adulthood
- The Impact of Financial-Aid Format on Students' Collegiate Financing Decisions