Pocket Money, Personal Interest, and Family Practices: What Shapes Students’ Economic Literacy?
University students' economic literacy depends not only on their field of study but also on their interest in economics, the learning environment, and family financial practices. For example, students who received pocket money irregularly tend to perform better on economic literacy tests than their peers who received financial support on a regular basis. These findings come from a study conducted by HSE University involving more than 1,100 students from five Russian universities. The findings have been published in Cakrawala Pendidikan.
A key component of economic literacy is the ability to apply economic knowledge in everyday life, from managing a personal budget to evaluating economic developments in the country. Research shows that higher levels of financial literacy are associated with greater financial security and lower vulnerability to fraud. Elena Tarovik, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences, together with Elena Kardanova and Ekaterina Pavlova from the HSE Institute of Education, set out to identify the factors that influence economic literacy and determine what contributes most to its development.
The researchers analysed data from 1,115 students across 56 academic groups at five Russian universities. Among the respondents, 69% were enrolled in economics-related programmes, and the average age was 19.
To assess students’ economic knowledge, the researchers used the Test of Economic Literacy developed by experts at the HSE Institute of Education. The test comprises 60 multiple-choice questions covering both macro- and microeconomics. In addition, the students completed a 13-item structured questionnaire on their environment, education, employment experience, and family financial practices. Among the respondents, 54% had prior work experience, 61% received pocket money on a regular basis, 30% received it irregularly, and 8% did not receive pocket money at all.
The strongest positive predictor of high performance on the economic literacy test was additional economic education, such as participation in clubs or courses. According to the authors, this finding highlights the potential value of supplementary educational programmes for students, regardless of their main field of study.
Another important factor was individual interest in economics, measured on a three-point scale. The higher the level of interest, the better the test performance, emphasising the role of personal motivation both in formal education and in acquiring essential life skills. In contrast, employment experience, gender, and age had little to no effect on economic literacy levels.
The effect of family financial practices was unexpected. Students who received pocket money irregularly scored, on average, 0.18 standard deviations higher than their peers who received pocket money on a regular basis—a small but statistically significant difference. The authors affirm that this reflects a statistical rather than a causal relationship and propose several possible explanations, ranging from learning to make decisions under uncertainty to the influence of family dynamics on economic socialisation.
Ekaterina Pavlova
'Several hypotheses may be proposed, but further research is needed to confirm them. First, irregularity in pocket money may encourage adolescents to budget and adapt to uncertainty, which resembles real-life financial conditions. Receiving money infrequently may also prompt young people to explore the causes of income variability and stimulate curiosity, leading to conversations with parents about money. Finally, having experienced financial instability, adolescents may seek to secure a more predictable income in the future, which could increase their motivation to understand economics,' explains Ekaterina Pavlova, a master's graduate of the HSE Institute of Education.
Formal education was found to be highly important, as membership in a specific study group explained 33% of the variation in test scores, while 67% was attributable to individual student characteristics. One important group-level predictor was the average Unified State Examination (USE) score, which was associated with a 0.3 standard deviation increase in test results. As expected, students from stronger groups based on USE scores were likely to perform better on the financial literacy test. This may reflect both the influence of the learning environment itself and the initial selection process, whereby higher-performing students are placed into such groups.
The authors conclude that economic literacy is shaped not only by an individual’s formal academic trajectory, but is also facilitated by additional learning, personal motivation, and the educational environment. This suggests opportunities for broader educational initiatives.
According to the researchers, a basic economics course should be required for all students and could be supplemented with optional modules. This approach could help build foundational knowledge while taking into account the specific needs of different professional fields.
Elena Tarovik
'Economic knowledge is essential for any qualified specialist, regardless of profession; therefore, introducing an economics course across all fields of study would be beneficial. Its core component should be mandatory for all students in order to develop an understanding of key economic principles and patterns. To ensure greater accessibility, the use of complex mathematics should be minimised. The impact of economics on other areas of life should be illustrated with practical examples. Those who wish to explore the subject in greater depth could be offered an advanced module. This approach would make it possible to tailor the course to different educational programmes and foster students’ interest in the discipline,' suggests Elena Tarovik, Associate Professor at the HSE Faculty of Economic Sciences.
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