Financial Literacy
Financial Services, Education and Social Exclusion

• Finanzielle Allgemeinbildung
  Finanzdienstleistungen, Bildung und soziale Ausgrenzung

• Éducation financière, services financiers, éducation et exclusion sociale

• Educazione finanziario, servizi finanziari, formazione ed esclusione sociale

Project conduct

From December 2001 to March 2003, commissioned by the General Directorate for Employment and Social Affairs of the European Commission (Agreement ref. no. VS/2001/0675).

Partners

• Institut für Finanzdienstleistungen e.V. in co-operation with
• Institut National de la Consommation, Paris
• Observatoire du Credit et de l’Endettement
• Centre for Housing Policy der Universität York
• Fondazione Giordano Dell’Amore, Mailand

Objective

The objective of this project is to research gaps in financial literacy and in the current provision of financial education in Great Britain, Belgium, France and Germany, and to set out the results in the form of individual national reports.

Financial literacy is considered as a means

• of enabling the individual to take control of his or her life circumstances through knowledge, abilities, understanding and the ability to make value judgments; and
• to emancipate the individual by strengthening his or her power in the market, which in turn will impact on the financial services available.

In addition, the partners are researching the level of financial literacy provision in their respective specialist areas (consumer information rights, money advice, immigration and the protection of low income consumers), and are developing proposals for the reduction or elimination of the inadequacies they identify.

Questionnaire

A questionnaire for measuring financial literacy in Europe is being produced.

Results

The results of the individual research studies will be edited into a final report following a meeting of the project partners, which will provide an overview of the current situation with regard to financial literacy in the countries considered and make recommendations for improvements.

Publications

The results of the project will also be published in FIS Money Advice.