Stereotypes in Financial Literacy: Evidence from PISA / Laura Bottazzi, Annamaria Lusardi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bottazzi, Laura.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Lusardi, Annamaria.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w28065.

NBER working paper series no. w28065

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

We examine gender differences in financial literacy among high school students in Italy using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Gender differences in financial literacy are large among the young in Italy. They are present in all regions and are particularly severe in the South and the Islands. Combining the rich PISA data with a variety of other indicators, we provide a thorough analysis of the potential determinants of the gender gap in financial literacy. We find that parental background, in particular the role of mothers, matters for the financial knowledge of girls. Moreover, we show that the social and cultural environment in which girls and boys live plays a crucial role in explaining gender differences. We also show that history matters: Medieval commercial hubs and the nuclear family structure created conditions favorable to the transformation of the role of women in society, and shaped gender differences in financial literacy as well.

Notes:

Print version record

November 2020.