CDR & Cities Theme Seminar: Ellen Nyhus - Are there gender differences in economic socialisation?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate if parents raise boys and girls differently when it comes to money management, saving and spending. Results from the OECD’s international financial literacy survey (OECD, 2013; 2016) show that there are considerable gender differences in financial knowledge, where women, in most countries, are less knowledgeable than men. This raises concerns about any consequences of the knowledge gap, for example, for the long-term effects on women’s financial opportunities and well-being. So far, we know little about the sources of this the gender gap in financial knowledge, and this study explores if one of the sources may be the economic socialisation practices of parents.

To test if there are gender differences in parental practices with respect to economic socialisation, data collected in 2005 will be analysed. The questionnaires were developed for a study on economic socialization (see Nyhus & Webley, 2013) and data were collected from 14-15 year old students and their parents. The students who filled in the questionnaire in 2005, are now in the 18-30 age group where the gender gap in financial knowledge is the largest.

The answers to these questions will be analysed to identify any differences in boys’ and girls’ income situation during adolescents and if parents tend to treat sons and daughters differently in money matters in ways that may explain the gender knowledge gap among young adults. If such differences in parental practices are detected, this should have implications for the inclusion of personal finance in school curriculums.

About the speaker

Ellen K. Nyhus (born 1966) is professor of marketing at the University of Agder, Norway and a senior researcher at Agder Research. She has previously worked as a Marie Curie fellow at Center for Economic Research, Tilburg University, the Netherlands. Nyhus’ research is within the field of consumer behaviour, more specifically, the financial behaviour of individuals and households.

Nyhus has initiated and provided funding for two OECD-surveys on financial literacy in Norway. The first was the OECD/INFE pilot survey, which took place in 2011 (in cooperation with the National center for Consumer Research, Norway). The second data collection, the OECD/INFE international financial literacy survey, took place in 2015 (in cooperation with the foundation “AksjeNorge). She currently studies if gender differences in economic socialization may explain the gender differences in financial literacy found in many countries. She is also comparing financial literacy and financial outcomes in the Nordic countries.