Publication:
The Impact of High School Financial Education : Experimental Evidence from Brazil

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Date
2013-12
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Published
2013-12
Author(s)
de Souza Leao, Luciana
Legovini, Arianna
Marchetti, Rogelio
Zia, Bilal
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Abstract
This paper studies the impact of a comprehensive financial education program spanning six states, 868 schools, and approximately 20,000 high school students in Brazil through a randomized control trial. The program increased student financial knowledge by a quarter of a standard deviation and led to a 1.4 percentage point increase in saving for purchases, better likelihood of financial planning, and greater participation in household financial decisions by students. "Trickle-up" impacts on parents were also significant, with improvements in parent financial knowledge, savings, and spending behavior. The study also finds evidence that the program affected students' inter-temporal preferences and attitudes.
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de Souza Leao, Luciana; Legovini, Arianna; Marchetti, Rogelio; Zia, Bilal; Bruhn, Miriam. 2013. The Impact of High School Financial Education : Experimental Evidence from Brazil. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 6723. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16940 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
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