Attitude, behavior and financial knowledge of young university students in Mexico

Abstract

Financial literacy, which includes the dimensions of attitude, behavior and knowledge, is a condition for individuals to achieve financial well-being. In the population of young university students, it is a relevant aspect since they begin the financial life cycle, with a forecast of medium and high income, but whose generation of wealth will depend on decision making. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to measure the level of financial literacy of students at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, in order to identify areas of opportunity and gaps to address. For which an instrument designed in Ecuador was applied, for the Latin American context, which meets the necessary psychometric levels. The sample consisted of 521 participants from various programs and educational spaces that were close to graduation. Analysis was subject to central and dispersion measures as well as non-parametric group comparison tests. Among the results, it was identified that most students are at a high level of financial literacy, although the lowest score was obtained in the knowledge dimension. Significant differences were found in gender, by educational program, academic space and employment status.