Research Paper Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series 2017010

Does education improve financial outcomes? Quasi-experimental evidence from Britain

Authors

Publication date

Apr 2017

Summary

This paper uses two compulsory schooling reforms in Britain (1947 and 1972) to study the relationship between education and financial behaviours. Employing a regression discontinuity design to analyse nationally representative data from the UK, we find limited evidence that one extra year of schooling led to systematically different financial behaviours. One exception is the promotion of more positive saving behaviours amongst females affected by the 1947 reform. We argue that, despite clear positive spill-overs of educational reforms, desirable financial behaviours require specific and targeted education policies and we point to the growing research in this field to support this conclusion.

Subjects

Education, Savings And Assets, Household Economics, Debt: Indebtedness, and Finance

Links

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/economics/research/serps/articles/2017_010

Related publications

1. Does education improve financial outcomes? Quasi-experimental evidence from Britain

   Daniel Gray, Alberto Montagnoli, and Mirko Moro

   Conference Paper, Royal Economic Society Conference 2017, 10-12 April, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK - 12 Apr 2017
   1. Education
   2. Savings And Assets
   3. Household Economics
   4. Debt: Indebtedness
   5. Finance

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