Financial Stress in the U.S. - Lack of Financial Knowledge or Lack of Income?

This section lists poster sessions as well as concurrent sessions by day, time, and room. Concurrent sessions have multiple presentations. You may search by title, author names, or keyword. A Schedule-at-a-Glance is posted on the Website and will provide the overview. This is the detail.

Major Area of Focus

Secondary area of focus

Short Abstract

In recent years, the consequences of the downturn in the economy have been evident in numerous consumer behaviors, including increased use of debt and more expensive financial products such as payday loans. The assumption in popular press reports and even in some scholarly work is that limited financial knowledge and skills are the likely explanations for these behaviors. Yet, even consumers with strong financial skills and knowledge may make questionable financial decisions during times of financial stress, such as after a sudden drop in income. The aim of this paper is to test the hypothesis that financial knowledge has a different influence on financial behaviors for consumers with different incomes who are experiencing financial stress. The results can be relevant to public and private decision makers debating the relative merits of financial literacy education vs. income support programs. The paper first reviews the literature, focusing on financial stress and its measurement. After describing the methodology, results are reported and implications are discussed.

Corresponding Author

2013 Conference

April 10–12, 2013

The Benson Hotel, Portland, Oregon

This section lists poster sessions as well as concurrent sessions by day, time, and room. Concurrent sessions have multiple presentations. You may search by title, author names, or keyword. A Schedule-at-a-Glance is posted on the Website and will provide the overview. This is the detail.