FINANCIAL LITERACY AMONG THE HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS: EMPIRAL EVIDENCE FOR THE PORTUGUESE CASE.

Abstract

Financial literacy is a topic that has lately gained acuity, mainly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. This work is committed with two main goals: to measure the level of financial literacy of the Portuguese students attending higher education programs; and to clarify the issues that may explain the level of financial literacy previously obtained. Concerning methodology, a questionnaire was sent to the national higher education institutions. The questions were drawn to establish the profile, the financial experience and the financial knowledge of the respondents. In this study, 550 answers were received, which highlighted a «Good» level of financial literacy within the sample. Age and the level of household income of the respondents are positively correlated with the financial literacy of respondents. It was also observed that individuals attending programs in business sciences tend to reveal a higher level of financial literacy, as well as do the women in the sample. The latter result is not in line with the current understanding widespread in the literature.