Space, context, and human capital: A micro-macro perspective on social environment and financial literacy in later life
Space, context, and human capital: A micro-macro perspective on social environment and financial literacy in later life
Despite a large body of literature documenting the association between individual characteristics and financial literacy, our understanding of the impact of macro-environmental conditions on individual financial literacy remains limited, particularly in later life. Drawing from a micro-macro perspective on the social environment and individual processes, we examined the extent to which three state-level contextual characteristics were associated with individual later-life financial literacy in the United States: tertiary educational attainment, poverty prevalence, and Internet penetration. We utilized data from the 2019 Understanding America Study (UAS) for adults aged 50 years or older to assess financial literacy (n=2,930), and data from the American Community Survey to evaluate contextual conditions. The UAS is a nationally representative survey panel supported by the Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Aging. Cross-sectional multilevel regression models were used to examine the hypothesized effects. We found that state-level poverty prevalence was negatively associated with individual financial literacy while state-level Internet penetration was positively associated with individual financial literacy, over and above individual characteristics known to impact financial literacy. No association was found between state-level educational attainment and individual financial literacy after controlling for respondents’ own education. Findings suggest that the social environment may condition financial literacy in later life through exposure to opportunities that promote knowledge acquisition. Interventions to enhance later-life financial literacy may benefit from targeted approaches that take into account the environmental characteristics of their locations of residence.
340 - 341
Li, Yang
4789a098-30e5-4197-8082-e467601b7a52
Mutchler, Jan
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Miller, Edward Alan
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Xiao, Jing Jian
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Tucker-Seeley, Reginald
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Li, Yang
4789a098-30e5-4197-8082-e467601b7a52
Mutchler, Jan
5e6775ff-d7e8-4955-9220-ba9558dce418
Miller, Edward Alan
2735ff25-2686-4090-94f9-edfd49ad6cd7
Xiao, Jing Jian
710ff928-5051-40f7-9613-7aaed2502e34
Tucker-Seeley, Reginald
c9cc54ee-3e22-413f-8e58-f87811090092
Li, Yang, Mutchler, Jan, Miller, Edward Alan, Xiao, Jing Jian and Tucker-Seeley, Reginald
(2021)
Space, context, and human capital: A micro-macro perspective on social environment and financial literacy in later life.
Innovation in Aging, 5, .
(doi:10.1093/geroni/igab046.1320).
Abstract
Despite a large body of literature documenting the association between individual characteristics and financial literacy, our understanding of the impact of macro-environmental conditions on individual financial literacy remains limited, particularly in later life. Drawing from a micro-macro perspective on the social environment and individual processes, we examined the extent to which three state-level contextual characteristics were associated with individual later-life financial literacy in the United States: tertiary educational attainment, poverty prevalence, and Internet penetration. We utilized data from the 2019 Understanding America Study (UAS) for adults aged 50 years or older to assess financial literacy (n=2,930), and data from the American Community Survey to evaluate contextual conditions. The UAS is a nationally representative survey panel supported by the Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Aging. Cross-sectional multilevel regression models were used to examine the hypothesized effects. We found that state-level poverty prevalence was negatively associated with individual financial literacy while state-level Internet penetration was positively associated with individual financial literacy, over and above individual characteristics known to impact financial literacy. No association was found between state-level educational attainment and individual financial literacy after controlling for respondents’ own education. Findings suggest that the social environment may condition financial literacy in later life through exposure to opportunities that promote knowledge acquisition. Interventions to enhance later-life financial literacy may benefit from targeted approaches that take into account the environmental characteristics of their locations of residence.
Text
igab046.1320 (1)
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e-pub ahead of print date: 17 December 2021
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 471814
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/471814
ISSN: 2399-5300
PURE UUID: fd69277e-c58d-47f4-9165-61f6cbbf46ff
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Date deposited: 21 Nov 2022 17:39
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 23:20
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Author:
Yang Li
Author:
Jan Mutchler
Author:
Edward Alan Miller
Author:
Jing Jian Xiao
Author:
Reginald Tucker-Seeley
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