‘Naji’ mentioned that the research results and audience needs assessment in this area, led European experts to develop a strategic plan on financial literacy, and currently 25 European countries have a strategic document on ...
‘Naji’ mentioned that the research results and audience needs assessment in this area, led European experts to develop a strategic plan on financial literacy, and currently 25 European countries have a strategic document on financial literacy.
According to Radio Goftogoo news site, Dr. Majed Naji, an Iranian university lecturer, discussed about ‘financial literacy throughout the world’ on "Chehel Sotoun" program.
Naji stated that financial literacy, which is defined as the management of personal finances, has a long history in the world; “The literature and culture of different countries indicate that they dealt with financial literacy in details.”
Regarding the successful experience of the United States in financial literacy and the need to make a model of it, he noted; “Although the United States has a different climate and culture and its pattern is different from ours regarding the details and content of financial literacy, but in general it has many lessons for us.”
For example, lots of the financial literacy topics taught to students in the United States are in the form of religious lessons, and this is very instructive for us since Islamic teachings had seriously emphasized on economic and financial grounds.”
Regarding the experience of European countries on financial literacy, the university lecturer said; “The EU has 25 years of experience in the field of financial literacy, but since 2007, and with the economic crises in Europe, this issue received more attention.”
Naji then named the rise of population’s age, low financial education, rise of household debt, complexity of financial markets and high deprivation rates as factors in Europeans' tendency towards financial literacy and education; “Also some researches conducted in the UK suggest that lack of self-control can contribute to this issue, and compared to financial literacy, it plays a greater role in the financial deprivation of people in different countries.”
He explained that financial literacy is a combination of knowledge, behavior and attitudes; “European analysts first measured the Europeans’ knowledge level on financial literacy, and according to studies, 80% of Europeans knew about the concept of risk, financial return, inflation and interest. About 60% were knew how to calculate the principal and interest of the loans, and regarding compound interest, only 30% of Europeans were aware while 70% were not informed.
Naji mentioned that the research results and audience needs assessment in this area, led European expert to develop a strategic plan on financial literacy, and currently 25 European countries have a strategic document on financial literacy.
The university lecturer said that for financial literacy, some countries identified one institution and others assigned several institutions responsible for this field; “For example, the Netherlands made the Ministry of Economy in charge of the country’s financial literacy, and then in the form of an attractive plan, included institutions such as the stock exchange, the banks, insurance and the National Institute of Family Information in this program.”
