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Financial Literacy and Debt

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Indebtedness in Early Adulthood

Abstract

Given the empirical evidence of the effect of financial literacy on a number of debt-related financial behaviors, such as e.g., mortgage-related decisions and use of credit cards, the construct of financial literacy is defined (including both level of objective knowledge and individuals’ own perception of level of knowledge) and discussed, both in general and connected to borrowing decisions. Together with age, gender, education, and income, the impact of financial literacy on a number of variables (including choice of variable or fixed mortgage rates, use of credit cards and use of pawn shops) is assessed and discussed. The connection between literacy and indebtedness for the group of young adults is also specifically addressed.

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Correspondence to Anders Carlander .

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Carlander, A., Hauff, J.C. (2019). Financial Literacy and Debt. In: Hauff, J., Gärling, T., Lindblom, T. (eds) Indebtedness in Early Adulthood. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13996-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13996-4_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13995-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13996-4

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