Financial Literacy and Savings Account Returns

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of the European Economic Association
Year: 2019
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Pages: 131-164

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Savings accounts are owned by most households, but little is known about the performance of households’ investments. We create a unique dataset by matching information on individual savings accounts from the DNB Household Survey with market data on account-specific interest rates and characteristics. We document heterogeneity in returns across households, which can be partly explained by financial sophistication. A one-standard deviation increase in financial literacy is associated with a 12% increase compared to the median interest rate. We isolate the usage of modern technology (online accounts) as one channel through which financial literacy has a positive association with returns.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:jeurec:v:17:y:2019:i:1:p:131-164.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25