Many U.S. Teens Lack Financial Literacy In World Study

Many U.S. Teens Lack Financial Literacy In World Study

By Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times

The financial literacy of American teenagers is no better than average compared with their peers in other countries, and nearly one in five lacks basic proficiency, according to a new study.

The report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development analyzed financial knowledge among 15-year-olds in 18 nations.

Teenagers in China, Belgium and Estonia fared the best. U.S. teens were ninth, with an overall numerical ranking that was slightly below average.

Nearly one in 10 American students was in the top-performing category, nearly on par with their peers around the world. But 17.8 percent lacked basic proficiency, worse than the 15.3 percent global average, the study found.

Financial literacy is crucial given that people are increasingly responsible for making their own decisions on complex topics such as student loans and retirement planning.

“The better an individual understands financial concepts and products, the more informed he or she will be when making financial decisions,” the report said. “These decisions affect not only individual households, but ultimately the economic health of the wider society.”

Despite efforts to improve basic awareness, studies have consistently shown that Americans of all ages don’t understand rudimentary principles of finance and investing. That includes well-educated and upper-income people, experts say.

“The lack of financial literacy cuts across Americans from all walks of life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, president of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation. “It’s blind to gender or socioeconomic status or even age.”

The study was done through the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment.

Photo: Miggslives via Flickr

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Remembering A Great American: Edwin Fancher, 1923-2023

Norman Mailer, seated, Ed Fancher and Dan Wolf, founders of The Village Voice

If you are lucky in your life, you come to know one or two people who made you who you are other than your parents who gave you the extraordinary gift of life. Edwin Fancher, who it is my sad duty to inform you died last Wednesday in his apartment on Gramercy Park at the age of 100, is one such person in my life. He was one of the three founders of The Village Voice, the Greenwich Village weekly that became known as the nation’s first alternative newspaper. The Voice, and he, were so much more than that.

Keep reading...Show less
How Is That Whole 'Law And Order' Thing Working Out For You, Republicans?

Former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer

One of the great ironies – and there are more than a few – in the case in Georgia against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants is the law being used against them: The Georgia RICO, or Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act. The original RICO Act, passed by Congress in 1970, was meant to make it easier for the Department of Justice to go after crimes committed by the Mafia and drug dealers. The first time the Georgia RICO law was used after it was passed in 1980 was in a prosecution of the so-called Dixie Mafia, a group of white criminals in the South who engaged in crimes of moving stolen goods and liquor and drug dealing.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}