Improved financial well-being and financial inclusion are dependent on financial literacy (Ambarkhane et al., 2015). The negative impact of financial incapability is often intensified during the university years when students are expected to optimise the use of their limited financial resources (Eichelberger et al., 2017).
Potrich et al. (2016) measured the financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of 534 students attending public and private universities in Brazil. The study utilised a Structural Equation Model (SEM) and found that both financial knowledge and attitudes influence
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the financial behaviour of university students. These findings were similar to more recent studies that concluded that financial behaviour is directly influenced by financial knowledge and attitudes (Vieira et al., 2019).
Thapa (2015) assessed the influence of demographic, educational and personality traits on the financial literacy of 436 university students in Nepal. The study found that financial knowledge is impacted by age, income, the field of study, and type of university as well as students’ attitudes. While the students were found to be financially knowledgeable, it was also found that gender does not impact financial knowledge.
Albeerdy and Gharleghi (2015b) evaluated the determinants of financial literacy among 103 Malaysian college students via a self-administered questionnaire. The survey utilised correlation and multiple regression analysis tables to examine the relationships between socio-demographic variables and financial literacy. Although the study indicated no positive relationship between financial socialisation and financial literacy, education and financial attitudes were found to be significant. This contradicts the findings of an American study, which used the 2015 National Financial Capability Study. It concluded that financial socialisation is a determinant of positive financial behaviour among college students’ loan debt decisions (Fan and Chatterjee, 2018).
Er et al. (2017) survey among 1 267 Turkish university students enrolled in an open university programme sought to understand their proficiency in money concepts, financial information for making decisions, and knowledge of financial assets via a structured questionnaire that also recoded demographic details. The results of the factor analysis showed that female students are risk-averse in their financial decisions and that gender and employment were statistically significant.
Jayakumar et al. (2017) cross-sectional survey of first- and fourth-year students across seven American medical schools found that the students were not financially knowledgeable, despite the provision of financial counselling for the fourth-year students.
Sarpong-Danquah et al. (2018) investigated the level of financial literacy among students across tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study sampled 480 students via a self-
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administered questionnaire. It was found that the majority of the students were highly knowledgeable about savings and investment-related issues, but had little knowledge of insurance. The authors recommended the inclusion of financial education programmes in tertiary curricula, regular seminars to promote financial awareness and the use of digital platforms to improve students’ financial knowledge.
Andreou and Philip (2018) adopted a quantitative research approach to examine the financial knowledge of 881 students across universities in Cyprus. The research instrument tested the students’ knowledge of basic financial terms such as inflation, interest rates, risk and diversification. While the survey found parental influence to be insignificant, socio-demographic and soft skills traits distinguished highly financially knowledgeable students from less knowledgeable ones. It was further found that financial knowledge is a key safeguard against poor debt decisions as well as vulnerability to Ponzi schemes.
Brooks and Wheeler (2018) sought to establish the effects of financial knowledge, perceived financial well-being and other factors on financial distress among 612 undergraduate students in an American university. The study conceptualised financial knowledge as knowledge of credit, debt, insurance, taxes and savings. Students with a positive financial well-being outlook exhibited lower levels of financial distress, but no relationship was found between financial knowledge and financial distress, although most students demonstrated poor financial knowledge.
Yong et al. (2018) employed the theory of planned behaviour and Partial Least Square (PLS) SEM to examine the relationships between the financial knowledge, attitude, behaviours and literacy of young working adults in Malaysia. The survey included 1 915 young working adults between the ages of 18 and 40 in five regions within Klang Valley.
It found that financial education is a key determinant of financial knowledge, as respondents with a financial educational background and those that had been exposed to financial education programmes exhibited better financial knowledge.
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Anderson et al. (2018) utilised data from the National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), which surveyed the financial knowledge of more than 89 200 undergraduate students in America. The study sought to determine students’ awareness of loan repayment terms. The study found that only 28% of the respondents were knowledgeable on basic financial terms such as interest rates, inflation, risk diversification and loan repayments. It also revealed that the overall financial literacy of students varies with socio-economic and academic factors relevant in predicting college success.
Furthermore, it was found that students who financed their studies via student loans exhibited better financial literacy.
Rajapakse (2018) considered the financial literacy of 132 university academics in the largest university system in Sri Lanka. The results revealed a medium level of financial knowledge (75.9%) and attitude (69.7%). However, this failed to reflect on their financial behaviour, which was measured at 59.96%.