Introduction
A Center dedicated to improving the financial literacy of the American public has been launched by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the RAND Corporation, and Dartmouth College.
The Financial Literacy Center received over $7 million in funding from the U.S. Social Security Administration to develop educational materials and programs that help foster saving and retirement strategies over the life cycle. The center is hosted by RAND and led by Director Annamaria Lusardi of Dartmouth College and RAND, Associate Director Olivia S. Mitchell of the Wharton School and Associate Director Arie Kapteyn of RAND, all of whom have international reputations for their work on financial literacy.
Besides researchers from the Wharton School, Dartmouth, and RAND, the Financial Literacy Center team includes experts in multiple disciplines from the American Enterprise Institute, Cornell University, Doorways to Dreams Fund, FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Greenwald and Associates, Harvard University, Harvard Business School, ideas42, the National Endowment for Financial Education, NBER, and North Carolina State University, along with a range of corporate and nonprofit collaborators.
Mission
Our projects are developing and tailoring materials for people at various stages of their working lives—young workers, mid-career workers and those approaching retirement—as well as current retirees who must manage the resources they have accumulated. The Center is also generating financial literacy products for underserved population, such as the low-income, young, and disabled workers, particularly vulnerable during periods of financial turbulence.
Mission
The mission of the Financial Literacy Center is to develop and test innovative programs to improve financial literacy and promote informed financial decisionmaking. The educational materials developed by the Center will be innovative, targeted, and tested for their effectiveness. Research teams will tailor materials for Americans at various stages of their working lives—young workers, mid-career workers, and those approaching retirement—as well as current retirees who must manage the resources they have accumulated. The research teams will also develop financial literacy products for underserved populations, such as low-income, young, and disabled workers, all of whom are particularly vulnerable during periods of financial turbulence.
Our Related Publications
News & Events
- MARKETWATCH: Financial illiteracy hinders savings (3/21/11)
- Pension Research Council YouTube Channel: Financial Literacy Conference Presentations
- RAND: Take the financial knowledge test
- Financial Literacy Center received second-year funding from Social Security Administration
- Focus on Financial Literacy (Year 2)
- First Annual Conference of the Financial Literacy Consortium (11/18/10)