ASSET

European Journal of Psychological Assessment, vol. 37, pp. 65–80

Abstract

Abstract. Young adults increasingly require good financial literacy to make the most of the opportunities provided to them. Unfortunately, existing financial literacy measures that may assist with targeting interventions show low reliability, ceiling effects, and a high level of abstraction. To address this, we designed and assessed the psychometric properties of a new measure specifically targeting young people, the Assessment of Economic and Financial Literacy (ASSET). We find it has better overall validity, reliability, and predictive power than existing measures. Using ASSET, we find that mathematical ability, calculator use (an example of deliberative thinking), gender, and socioeconomic status are key predictors of financial literacy. We recommend this more robust tool for use in financial literacy research to assess implications for guiding major financial decisions among young people.

Authors 5

1. Tomas Folke

   University of Cambridge · Columbia University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

2. Jovana Gjorgjiovska

   University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK

3. Alessandro F. Paul Aachen Department of Social and Organisational Psychology Policy Research Group Centre for Business Research UK Department of Social and Organisational Psychology

   Leiden University · University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK Department of Social and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Lea Jakob

   Charles University · University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

5. Kai Ruggeri

   University of Cambridge · Columbia University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK

   The Policy Research Group, The Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, UK Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA