Education and Saving: The Long-Term Effects of High School Financial Curriculum Mandates

B. Douglas Bernheim, Daniel M. Garrett and Dean M. Maki

No 6085, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Over the last forty years, the majority of states have adopted consumer education policies, and a sizable minority have specifically mandated that high school students receive instruction on topics related to household financial decision-making (budgeting so forth). In this paper, we attempt to determine whether the curricula arising from these mandates have had any discernable effect on adult decisions regarding saving. Using a unique household survey, we exploit the variation in requirements both across states and over time to identify the effects of interest. The evidence indicates that mandates have significantly raised both exposure to financial curricula and subsequent asset accumulation once exposed students reached adulthood. These effects appear to have been gradual rather than immediate -- a probable reflection of implementation lags.

JEL-codes: D12 E21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997-07
Note: AG PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Published as Bernheim, B. Douglas & Garrett, Daniel M. & Maki, Dean M., 2001. "Education and saving:: The long-term effects of high school financial curriculum mandates," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 435-465, June.

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Journal Article: Education and saving:: The long-term effects of high school financial curriculum mandates (2001)
Working Paper: Education and Saving: The Long-Term Effects of High School Financial Curriculum Mandates (1997)
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