Financial Literacy, Information Behavior, and Interest in Financial News in Austria

Abstract

Financial communication plays a crucial role in financial contexts affecting the attitude towards financial products, and thus, the investment behavior of individuals. Making financial decisions requires collecting and evaluating of a lot of financial information. If individuals attach interest in financial topics, and if so, which information sources they refer to when dealing with financial issues is determined by various factors such as demographic characteristics, social and cultural background, and also one’s financial capabilities. Using a random sample of working population in Austria, this survey exploits the relationship between information behavior in financial contexts and financial literacy. We further examine which factors might increase the individuals’ interest in financial news. Our results provide evidence of a significant association between financial literacy and the information sources investors prefer. The interest in financial news is not likely to be enhanced by more financial media reporting, but rather by more available time and financial knowledge. Overall, our results provide some interesting insights into information behavior of private investors in Austria and suggestions how financial communication could be improved.

Keywords: Financial Literacy, Information Sources, Information Behavior, Financial Communication, Financial News

JEL Classification: I22, D14, D83, G02, P46, C25