The importance of economic literacy and an analysis of the level of economic knowledge
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32015/JIBM.17.2025.2.6Keywords:
economics, literacy, economic knowledge, educational programmesAbstract
Purpose — The paper examines the level of economic literacy among students of a Slovenian social sciences faculty and highlights its importance for understanding micro- and macroeconomic concepts, making informed financial decisions, and engaging in active citizenship.
Methodology — The research is based on a quantitative methodological approach using a questionnaire that includes demographic data and specific economics-related questions. Three hypotheses were tested: differences based on gender, political orientation, and generational groups.
Findings — The results showed a low average level of economic literacy (47% correct answers). No statistically significant differences were found with regard to gender, political orientation, or generational group. Students performed best on questions related to basic financial concepts, while the poorest results were recorded on questions concerning fiscal policy and government measures.
Practical implications — Based on the findings, it is recommended that educational programmes include more content related to current economic issues and that curricula be adapted to the needs of the modern economy.
Originality/Value — This is the first such study of economic literacy conducted on a sample of Slovenian students. It fills an important research gap and provides empirical evidence that can support educational changes and the development of targeted measures to improve economic literacy among young people.
References
Barton, J., in Rodet, C. (2022). Economic literacy in public policy positions. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15148.33920
Benzarti, Y., in Harju, J. (2021). Can payroll tax cuts help firms during recessions? Journal of Public Economics, 200. https://www.nber.org/papers/w27485
Beresford Research. (n.d.). Age range by generation – Beresford Research. https://www.beresfordresearch.com/age-range-by-generation/
CEE: Walstad, W. B., Rebeck, K., in Butters, R. B. (2013). Test of economic literacy examiner’s manual (4th ed.). https://www.econedlink.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/TEL-Manual.pdf
Dilek, S., Kesgingöz, H., Konak, A., in Halicioğlu, S. (2018). Factors affecting economic literacy. Afro Eurasian Studies, 7(1), 11–51. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331265364_Factors_Affecting_Economic_Literacy
Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end in Generation Z begins. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-in-generation-z-begins/
Esposito, L., in Theuerkauf, U. G. (2021). Economic well-being in self-placements on a Left-Right scale: Evidence from undergraduate students in seven countries. Journal of Political Ideologies. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2021.2003974
Eurostat. (2024). Government deficit/surplus, debt in associated data. https://ec.europa.eu/nvestop/databrowser/view/gov_10dd_edpt1__custom_11515492/default/table?lang=en
Grynberg, C., in Habib, M. M. (2021). EU in ECB policy responses to the COVID-19 pinemic in the international role of the euro. European Central Bank. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/ire/article/ecb.ireart202106_01~b6aa720439.en.pdf
Happ, R., Kato, M., in Rüter, I. (2021). Results from the test of economic literacy in Germany in Japan: A critical discussion on the gender effect. Citizenship, Social in Economics Education, 20(1), 48–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/20471734211004117
Höflmayr, M. (2021). ECB monetary policy: Strategic review. European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/698050/EPRS_BRI(2021)698050_EN.pdf
International Monetary Fund. (2023). Monetary policy in central banking. https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/monetary-policy-in-central-banking
Ingale, K. K., in Paluri, R. A. (2022). Financial literacy in financial behaviour: A bibliometric analysis. Review of Behavioral Finance, 14(1), 130–154. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/RBF-06-2020-0141/full/html
Kaiser, T., Oberrauch, L., Pang, M. F., in Seeber, G. (2021). Using the ‘Test of Economic Competence’ with secondary school students in Hong Kong: Results in psychometric properties. ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics. https://hdl.hinle.net/10419/236205
Larch, M., Malzubris, J., in Santacroce, S. (2023). Numerical compliance with EU fiscal rules: Facts in figures from a new database. Intereconomics. https://www.intereconomics.eu/contents/year/2023/number/1/article/numerical-compliance-with-eu-fiscal-rules-facts-in-figures-from-a-new-database.html
Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. S., in Curto, V. (2010). Financial literacy among the young. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44(2), 358–380. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01173.x
Maverick, J. (2024). Debt market vs. equity market: What’s the difference? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/071415/what-are-differences-between-debt-in-equity-markets.asp
McCowage, M. (2023). Economic literacy in Australia: A first look. Bulletin – Reserve Bank of Australia, September 2023. https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2023/sep/economic-literacy-in-australia-a-first-look.html
McCowage, M., in Dwyer, J. (2022). Economic literacy: What is it in why is it important? RBA Bulletin. https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2022/dec/economic-literacy-what-is-it-in-why-is-it-important.html
Modig, N. (2021). Why powerful economic content in scientific language in social studies textbooks matters. Journal of Social Science Education, 20. https://doi.org/10.11576/jsse-3969
Montagnoli, A., Moro, M., Panos, G. A., in Wright, R. (2016). Financial literacy in political orientation in Great Britain. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10285. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2861070
Murtinu, S., Piccirilli, G., in Sacchi, A. (2017). Fiscal policy, government polarization, in the economic literacy of voters. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2863016
Norrish, A. (2017). What is ‘economic literacy’? Medium. https://blog.ecnmy.org/what-is-economic-literacy-577e05c378b6
Organisation for Economic Co-operation in Development. (2022). OECD/INFE toolkit for measuring financial literacy in financial inclusion 2022. https://www.oecd.org/financial/education/2022-INFE-Toolkit-Measuring-Finlit-Financial-Inclusion.pdf
Preston, A. (2020). Financial literacy brief: Financial literacy in Australia – Insights from HILDA. UWA Public Policy Institute. https://api.research-repository.uwa.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/73668586/Financial_Literacy_in_Australia.pdf
Salemi, M. K. (2005). Teaching economic literacy: Why, what in how. International Review of Economics Education, 4(2), 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1477-3880(15)30132-8
Taherdoost, H. (2016). Sampling methods in research methodology: How to choose a sampling technique for research. International Journal of Academic Research in Management, 5, 18–27. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205035
van Rooij, M., Lusardi, A., in Alessie, R. (2011). Financial literacy in stock market participation. Journal of Financial Economics, 101(2), 449–472. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X11000717
Vermeer, T. (2022). How do income taxes affect the economy? Tax Foundation. https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/state/income-taxes-affect-economy/
Yawson, D. E., in Yamoah, F. A. (2020). Understining satisfaction essentials of e-learning in higher education: A multi-generational cohort perspective. Heliyon, 6(11), e05519. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020323628
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Andraž Konc
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors retain rights under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International CC BY-SA 4.0. Authors assign copyright or license the publication rights in their articles, including abstracts, to MIP=JIBM. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and of course MIP=JIBM, to the widest possible readership in electronic format. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.
