Elsa Fornero and Anna Lo Prete
Abstract: Financial education is a crucial determinant of informed decisions, in both the private and social spheres. From a life cycle perspective, it improves personal finance. From youth to retirement, basic economic and financial competences, including specific pension literacy, help to plan for the future and to make better choices, thus reducing the probability of financial fragility, particularly in old age, and increasing economic independence, particularly for women. In the social sphere, a growing literature is demonstrating that basic financial education also affects public choices, influencing voting behaviour, economic reforms, policy outcomes, and, more generally, the workings of our democracies.