Annamaria Lusardi
Biographic Data
| ID | 1099825 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Annamaria Lusardi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Annamaria |
| FAMILY NAME | Lusardi |
| SIGNATURE | LUSARDI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | George Washington University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2378-7489 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 533 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Evaluating the effects of a low-cost, online financial education program
The Importance of Financial Literacy
We undertake an assessment of our two decades of research on financial literacy, building on our empirical research and theoretical work casting financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. We also draw on recent data to determine who is the most-and least-financially savvy in the United States, and we highlight the similarity of our results in other countries. A number of convincing studies is now available, from which we draw c…
Assessing the impact of financial education programs
Building up financial literacy and financial resilience
Financial literacy and the need for financial education
Financial Fraud Among Older Americans
Fraud is a complex phenomenon and no single factor uniquely predicts victimization across different types, even within the category of investment fraud. Prevention programs should educate consumers about various types of fraud and increase awareness among financial services professionals
Optimal Financial Knowledge and Wealth Inequality
We show that financial knowledge is a key determinant of wealth inequality in a stochastic lifecycle model with endogenous financial knowledge accumulation, where financial knowledge enables individuals to better allocate lifetime resources in a world of uncertainty and imperfect insurance. Moreover, because of how the U.S. social insurance system works, better-educated individuals have most to gain from investing in financial knowledge. Our pars…
Debt literacy, financial experiences, and overindebtedness
We analyze a national sample of Americans with respect to their debt literacy, financial experiences, and their judgments about the extent of their indebtedness. Debt literacy is a component of broader financial understanding that measures knowledge about debt and self-assessed financial knowledge. Financial experiences are the participants’ reported experiences with traditional borrowing, alternative borrowing, and investing. Overindebtedness is…
Financial literacy
Increasingly, individuals are in charge of their own financial security and are confronted with ever more complex financial instruments. However, there is evidence that many individuals are not well-equipped to make sound saving decisions. This article looks at financial literacy, which is defined as the ability to process economic information and make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth accumulation, debt, and pensions. Failure t…
The Economic Crisis and Medical Care Use
Objective We examine how the economic crisis has affected individuals’ use of routine medical care and assess the extent to which the impact varies depending on national context. Methods Data from a new cross‐national survey fielded in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, and Germany are used to estimate the effects of employment and wealth shocks and financial fragility on the use of routine care. Results We document reductions in i…
The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy
This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research, which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare, as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how m…
Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning and Household Wealth
Relying on comprehensive measures of financial knowledge, we provide evidence of a strong positive association between financial literacy and net worth, even after controlling for many determinants of wealth. We discuss two channels through which financial literacy might facilitate wealth accumulation. First, financial knowledge increases the likelihood of investing in the stock market, allowing individuals to benefit from the equity premium. Sec…
Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States
We examine financial literacy in the US using the new National Financial Capability Study, wherein we demonstrate that financial literacy is particularly low among the young, women, and the less-educated. Moreover, Hispanics and African-Americans score the least well on financial literacy concepts. Interestingly, all groups rate themselves as rather well-informed about financial matters, notwithstanding their actual performance on the key literac…
Financial Literacy and Planning
Relatively little is known about why people fail to plan for retirement and whether planning and information costs might affect retirement saving patterns. This paper reports on a purpose-built survey module on planning and financial literacy for the Health and Retirement Study which measures how people make financial plans, collect the information needed to make these plans, and implement the plans. We show that financial illiteracy is widesprea…
Financially Fragile Households
This paper examines households' financial fragility by looking at their capacity to come up with $2,000 in 30 days. Using data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey, we document widespread financial weakness in the United States: Approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or…
Financial literacy around the world
In an increasingly risky and globalized marketplace, people must be able to make well-informed financial decisions. New international research demonstrates that financial illiteracy is widespread in both well-developed and rapidly changing markets. Women are less financially literate than men, the young and the old are less financially literate than the middle-aged, and more educated people are more financially knowledgeable. Most importantly, th…
Financial literacy and stock market participation
Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands
The Importance of Business Owners in Assessing the Size of Precautionary Savings
Not properly accounting for differences between business owners and nonbusiness owners in studies of household wealth can lead to erroneous conclusions about the significance of different saving motives. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics from the 1980s and 1990s, we show that within samples of both business owners and non–business owners, the amount of precautionary savings with respect to labor income risk is modest and accounts…
Debt Literacy, Financial Experiences, and Overindebtedness
We analyze a national sample of Americans with respect to their debt literacy, financial experiences, and their judgments about the extent of their indebtedness. Debt literacy is measured by questions testing knowledge of fundamental concepts related to debt and by self-assessed financial knowledge. Financial experiences are the participants' reported experiences with traditional borrowing, alternative borrowing, and investing activities. Overind…
Planning and Financial Literacy
Many older US households have done little or no planning for retirement, and there is a substantial population that seems to undersave for retirement. Of particular concern is the relative position of older women, who are more vulnerable to old-age poverty due to their longer longevity. This paper uses data from a special module we devised on planning and financial literacy in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study. It shows that women display much…
Baby Boomer retirement security
Financial Literacy and Retirement Preparedness
Liquidity Constraints, Household Wealth, and Entrepreneurship
The propensity to become a business owner is a nonlinear function of wealth. The relationship between wealth and entry into entrepreneurship is essentially flat over the majority of the wealth distribution. It is only at the top of the wealth distributionafter the ninety-fifth percentilethat a positive relationship can be found. Segmenting businesses into industries with high and lowstarting capital requirements, we find no evidence that wealth m…
Permanent Income, Current Income, and Consumption
In this article, I estimate Euler equations—that is, the first-order conditions of the consumers' maximization problem—using data from two data sets. Consumption data are taken from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Income data are taken from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Because the data for the estimation come from two samples, I use a generalization of the instrumental variables estimator—the two-sample instrumental variables estimator. I…
Financial literacy and stock market participation
Financial Literacy and Retirement Preparedness
Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning and Household Wealth
Relying on comprehensive measures of financial knowledge, we provide evidence of a strong positive association between financial literacy and net worth, even after controlling for many determinants of wealth. We discuss two channels through which financial literacy might facilitate wealth accumulation. First, financial knowledge increases the likelihood of investing in the stock market, allowing individuals to benefit from the equity premium. Sec…
Liquidity Constraints, Household Wealth, and Entrepreneurship
The propensity to become a business owner is a nonlinear function of wealth. The relationship between wealth and entry into entrepreneurship is essentially flat over the majority of the wealth distribution. It is only at the top of the wealth distributionafter the ninety-fifth percentilethat a positive relationship can be found. Segmenting businesses into industries with high and lowstarting capital requirements, we find no evidence that wealth m…
Optimal Financial Knowledge and Wealth Inequality
We show that financial knowledge is a key determinant of wealth inequality in a stochastic lifecycle model with endogenous financial knowledge accumulation, where financial knowledge enables individuals to better allocate lifetime resources in a world of uncertainty and imperfect insurance. Moreover, because of how the U.S. social insurance system works, better-educated individuals have most to gain from investing in financial knowledge. Our pars…
Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands
Building up financial literacy and financial resilience
Financial Fraud Among Older Americans
Fraud is a complex phenomenon and no single factor uniquely predicts victimization across different types, even within the category of investment fraud. Prevention programs should educate consumers about various types of fraud and increase awareness among financial services professionals
The Importance of Financial Literacy
We undertake an assessment of our two decades of research on financial literacy, building on our empirical research and theoretical work casting financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. We also draw on recent data to determine who is the most-and least-financially savvy in the United States, and we highlight the similarity of our results in other countries. A number of convincing studies is now available, from which we draw c…
The Economic Crisis and Medical Care Use
Objective We examine how the economic crisis has affected individuals’ use of routine medical care and assess the extent to which the impact varies depending on national context. Methods Data from a new cross‐national survey fielded in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, and Germany are used to estimate the effects of employment and wealth shocks and financial fragility on the use of routine care. Results We document reductions in i…
Permanent Income, Current Income, and Consumption
In this article, I estimate Euler equations—that is, the first-order conditions of the consumers' maximization problem—using data from two data sets. Consumption data are taken from the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Income data are taken from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Because the data for the estimation come from two samples, I use a generalization of the instrumental variables estimator—the two-sample instrumental variables estimator. I…
Liquidity Constraints, Household Wealth, and Entrepreneurship
The propensity to become a business owner is a nonlinear function of wealth. The relationship between wealth and entry into entrepreneurship is essentially flat over the majority of the wealth distribution. It is only at the top of the wealth distributionafter the ninety-fifth percentilethat a positive relationship can be found. Segmenting businesses into industries with high and lowstarting capital requirements, we find no evidence that wealth m…
Baby Boomer retirement security
Financial Literacy and Retirement Preparedness
Planning and Financial Literacy
Many older US households have done little or no planning for retirement, and there is a substantial population that seems to undersave for retirement. Of particular concern is the relative position of older women, who are more vulnerable to old-age poverty due to their longer longevity. This paper uses data from a special module we devised on planning and financial literacy in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study. It shows that women display much…
Debt Literacy, Financial Experiences, and Overindebtedness
We analyze a national sample of Americans with respect to their debt literacy, financial experiences, and their judgments about the extent of their indebtedness. Debt literacy is measured by questions testing knowledge of fundamental concepts related to debt and by self-assessed financial knowledge. Financial experiences are the participants' reported experiences with traditional borrowing, alternative borrowing, and investing activities. Overind…
The Importance of Business Owners in Assessing the Size of Precautionary Savings
Not properly accounting for differences between business owners and nonbusiness owners in studies of household wealth can lead to erroneous conclusions about the significance of different saving motives. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics from the 1980s and 1990s, we show that within samples of both business owners and non–business owners, the amount of precautionary savings with respect to labor income risk is modest and accounts…
Financial literacy and retirement planning in the United States
We examine financial literacy in the US using the new National Financial Capability Study, wherein we demonstrate that financial literacy is particularly low among the young, women, and the less-educated. Moreover, Hispanics and African-Americans score the least well on financial literacy concepts. Interestingly, all groups rate themselves as rather well-informed about financial matters, notwithstanding their actual performance on the key literac…
Financial Literacy and Planning
Relatively little is known about why people fail to plan for retirement and whether planning and information costs might affect retirement saving patterns. This paper reports on a purpose-built survey module on planning and financial literacy for the Health and Retirement Study which measures how people make financial plans, collect the information needed to make these plans, and implement the plans. We show that financial illiteracy is widesprea…
Financially Fragile Households
This paper examines households' financial fragility by looking at their capacity to come up with $2,000 in 30 days. Using data from the 2009 TNS Global Economic Crisis survey, we document widespread financial weakness in the United States: Approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or…
Financial literacy around the world
In an increasingly risky and globalized marketplace, people must be able to make well-informed financial decisions. New international research demonstrates that financial illiteracy is widespread in both well-developed and rapidly changing markets. Women are less financially literate than men, the young and the old are less financially literate than the middle-aged, and more educated people are more financially knowledgeable. Most importantly, th…
Financial literacy and stock market participation
Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands
Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning and Household Wealth
Relying on comprehensive measures of financial knowledge, we provide evidence of a strong positive association between financial literacy and net worth, even after controlling for many determinants of wealth. We discuss two channels through which financial literacy might facilitate wealth accumulation. First, financial knowledge increases the likelihood of investing in the stock market, allowing individuals to benefit from the equity premium. Sec…
The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy
This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research, which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare, as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how m…
Debt literacy, financial experiences, and overindebtedness
We analyze a national sample of Americans with respect to their debt literacy, financial experiences, and their judgments about the extent of their indebtedness. Debt literacy is a component of broader financial understanding that measures knowledge about debt and self-assessed financial knowledge. Financial experiences are the participants’ reported experiences with traditional borrowing, alternative borrowing, and investing. Overindebtedness is…
Financial literacy
Increasingly, individuals are in charge of their own financial security and are confronted with ever more complex financial instruments. However, there is evidence that many individuals are not well-equipped to make sound saving decisions. This article looks at financial literacy, which is defined as the ability to process economic information and make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth accumulation, debt, and pensions. Failure t…
The Economic Crisis and Medical Care Use
Objective We examine how the economic crisis has affected individuals’ use of routine medical care and assess the extent to which the impact varies depending on national context. Methods Data from a new cross‐national survey fielded in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, and Germany are used to estimate the effects of employment and wealth shocks and financial fragility on the use of routine care. Results We document reductions in i…
Optimal Financial Knowledge and Wealth Inequality
We show that financial knowledge is a key determinant of wealth inequality in a stochastic lifecycle model with endogenous financial knowledge accumulation, where financial knowledge enables individuals to better allocate lifetime resources in a world of uncertainty and imperfect insurance. Moreover, because of how the U.S. social insurance system works, better-educated individuals have most to gain from investing in financial knowledge. Our pars…
Financial Fraud Among Older Americans
Fraud is a complex phenomenon and no single factor uniquely predicts victimization across different types, even within the category of investment fraud. Prevention programs should educate consumers about various types of fraud and increase awareness among financial services professionals
Financial literacy and the need for financial education
Assessing the impact of financial education programs
Building up financial literacy and financial resilience
The Importance of Financial Literacy
We undertake an assessment of our two decades of research on financial literacy, building on our empirical research and theoretical work casting financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. We also draw on recent data to determine who is the most-and least-financially savvy in the United States, and we highlight the similarity of our results in other countries. A number of convincing studies is now available, from which we draw c…
Evaluating the effects of a low-cost, online financial education program
Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis (24 works) · Economics (20 works) · Housing Market and Economics (18 works) · Business (17 works) · Financial literacy (17 works) · Finance (14 works) · Finance (11 works) · Political science (9 works) · Economic growth (7 works) · Financial plan (7 works)