We need financial literacy to make good financial decisions. But did you know that half of Europeans have low financial literacy levels, and that 60% of them are women?

Our host Stefania Secola talks to Annamaria Lusardi from Stanford University about what financial literacy is, why it matters and how we can improve it, especially among women.

The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.

Published on 13 March 2025 and recorded on 7 March 2025.

In this episode:

00:01 Commitments made by central banks

How did central bank Governors commit to improving financial literacy in their respective countries? What are the desired outcomes?

00:27 Looking at the numbers

How financially literate are Europeans? How big is the gap between men and women? And what can we do about it?

01:55 Financial literacy defined

What is financial literacy? How does it relate to financial independence?

03:58 Measuring financial literacy

There are three simple questions, known as the “Big Three”, that experts use to measure financial literacy. Can you, our listener, answer them?

05:59 Why central banks care about financial literacy

Why does financial literacy matter for central banks? How does it relate to the effectiveness of monetary policy and trust in what a central bank does? And how does it affect banking supervision?

10:53 Financial knowledge in Europe

Why is financial literacy in Europe so low? What can we do to increase the overall level of financial literacy among Europeans?

12:30 When to start addressing financial literacy

When is the best time to improve people’s financial literacy? Is it limited to schools or are there also other teachable moments?

15:50 The gender gap in financial literacy

Why is there this gender gap and why is it a problem? What can we do to make sure that half the population isn’t left behind?

20:14 The role of fintech

Does fintech complement financial literacy? What risks do gender differences in digital literacy pose when it comes to using fintech?

22:26 The road ahead

Central banks made five commitments to improve financial literacy. What are these commitments?

24:50 Financial literacy question: answer revealed

We answer the first “Big Three” question. Listen and see whether you chose the correct answer!

25:45 Our guest’s hot tip

Annamaria shares her hot tip with our listeners.

Further reading:

Annamaria Lusardi’s research

https://www.annamarialusardi.com/research/

ECB International Women’s Day Event 2025

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/conferences/html/20250307_intl_womens_day.en.html

The ECB Blog: The gender gap at work is closing – but slowly

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250307~85fd774bd3.en.html

The “Big Three” and “Big Five”

https://gflec.org/education/questions-that-indicate-financial-literacy/

Chart: Gender gap in financial literacy is pervasive, incl. the young, well educated and high income

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvVzgcXCFBw&t=222s

ECB Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/europeancentralbank/

European Central Bank

www.ecb.europa.eu

ECB Banking Supervision

https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/home/html/index.en.html