Financial literacy and confidence - an information provision experiment

Last registered on November 16, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Financial literacy and confidence - an information provision experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012432
Initial registration date
November 03, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 15, 2023, 12:56 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
November 16, 2023, 3:35 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Jana Schuetz
Affiliation
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Julia Peter
PI Affiliation
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-11-06
End date
2023-11-14
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender
Additional Keywords
age, retirement, financial literacy
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Research on financial literacy shows that women and older people have significantly lower levels of financial literacy. This has implications for investment and savings decisions, especially in light of an increasingly complex financial system and the growing need for individual retirement planning. Confidence can be a driving force in answering financial literacy questions and in financial decision making. For example, older individuals continue to show high levels of confidence in financial decision making, despite declining financial literacy scores at older ages (Finke et al. 2017). In addition, women have less confidence in their own abilities with regard to financial matters (Lusardi and Mitchell 2014). We would like to make the following contributions to the literature: We want to address the question of whether certain information about gender or age differences in mathematical competencies in everyday life has an impact on their confidence in answering financial literacy questions. Furthermore, we want to investigate how this information then affects the hypothetical investment or savings decisions of the respective groups. We also want to analyze how this information affects preferences for policies aimed at reducing these disparities. Through our study, we aim to provide a nuanced picture of financial literacy and resulting hypothetical investment and savings decisions in the context of individual confidence in their own decisions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Peter, Julia and Jana Schuetz. 2023. "Financial literacy and confidence - an information provision experiment." AEA RCT Registry. November 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12432-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-06
Intervention End Date
2023-11-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
In our survey, we have the following sets of outcome variables:
1) Confidence in their own financial literacy and financial literacy performance
2) Hypothetical investment and savings decisions
3) Demand for information and education
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We provide information about everyday mathematical skills in Germany to all three groups in the following way.
1) T1 - Age: In Germany, younger adults have higher everyday mathematical skills than older adults.
2) T2 - Gender: In Germany, men have higher everyday mathematical skills than women.
3) C - Active control: In an international comparison, adults in Germany have average everyday skills.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
2500 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately 833 individuals per experimental group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
IRB Approval Date
2023-09-16
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
November 14, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
November 14, 2023, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials