Mind the Gap: A Discussion Paper on Financial Literacy and Financial Behaviour: Is There Any Gender Gap?

51 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2019

See all articles by Maryam Sholevar

Maryam Sholevar

Department of Finance and Management, SOAS, University of London

Laurence Harris

University of London - Centre for Financial and Management Studies (CeMIS)

Date Written: October 17, 2019

Abstract

Since the 2008 global crisis, financial literacy has come into the spotlight, but the available definitions are of theoretical nature addressing major issues appeared in specific economies, as presented here through an in-depth analysis of the literature. While the common focus has been on the United States, the economic infrastructure of Europe is very diverse. Despite the global epidemic of the crisis, its pattern was not globally the same. Utilising the current definitions without considering their validity has caused a misconception for inspecting emerging problems. Therefore, a new definition of financial literacy is proposed, which can be universally applied to various types of economies. The approach is to find the appropriate perspective for tailoring the framework of financial literacy for specific environments. Applying this definition to typical cases revealed that some of the key problems discussed in the literature are not indeed the critical issues, while major problems are usually neglected. The best example is the case of the gender gap where we might need to find new solutions as most of the previous studies have been based on inappropriate (or at least less practical) premises.

Keywords: Financial literacy, Financial inclusion, Gender Gap, Financial behaviours, Measuring financial literacy

JEL Classification: D14, G40, J16

Suggested Citation

Sholevar, Maryam and Harris, Laurence, Mind the Gap: A Discussion Paper on Financial Literacy and Financial Behaviour: Is There Any Gender Gap? (October 17, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3471257 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3471257

Maryam Sholevar (Contact Author)

Department of Finance and Management, SOAS, University of London ( email )

SOAS University of London 10 Thornhaugh Street, Ru
London, WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

Laurence Harris

University of London - Centre for Financial and Management Studies (CeMIS)

Thornhaugh Street
London, WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

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