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Terra Economicus, 2022, 20(2), 147-159 DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2022-20-2-147-159
Economic aspects of financial literacy in the context of sustainable management
Marketa Beranova
Czech University of Life Science Prague, Czech Republic, e-mail: mberanova@pef.czu.cz
Lucie Severova
Czech University of Life Science Prague, Czech Republic, e-mail: severova@pef.czu.cz
Citation: Beranovâ M., Severovâ L. (2022). Economic aspects of financial literacy in the context of sustainable management. Terra Economicus 20(2), 147-159. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2022-20-2-147-159
The paper is focused on financial literacy in the context of teaching sustainable management to young people (e.g. increasing the engagement of youth in fostering the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SFGs)) represented by the university students. The main aim of this paper was to evaluate the attitudes of young people to the management of funds and obtaining the knowledge required for using financial tools and instruments. When it comes to shaping up the sustainable behavior of individuals, financial literacy is gaining a special importance in in this process. The questionnaire survey was used as a tool for collecting the primary data used for feeding the empirical model used in this research. A sample of 1,437 randomly selected respondents took part in our own questionnaire survey prepared and carried out by the research team. Participants of the survey were young people represented by the students of the three selected random universities from the Czech Republic. First, the area of the overview of the respondents' financial resources was monitored. In this case, 97.28% of respondents answered "yes" or "rather yes». In terms of monitoring personal income and expenses, i.e., in the question of whether respondents created their own budget, 81.77% of respondents in question answered «yes,» most often indicating that were were using information and communication technologies for these purposes. All in all, our results confirm that the level of any individual's financial literacy has an impact on this individual's sustainable management skills. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that financial literacy within the context of sustainable management plays a crucial role in the social and economic development of any society. Our results might be informative and useful for both the policymakers and researchers working in the fields of promoting sustainable behavior and financial literacy through introducing effective sustainable education and boosting efficient management skills.
Keywords: behavior; sustainable management; financial literacy; finance; student; university JEL codes: D10, L66
Экономические аспекты финансовой грамотности в контексте устойчивого
управления
Беранова Маркета
Чешский сельскохозяйственный университет в Праге, Чешская Республика e-mail: mberanova@pef.czu.cz
Северова Люцие
Чешский сельскохозяйственный университет в Праге, Чешская Республика e-mail: severova@pef.czu.cz
Цитирование: Beranovâ M., Severovâ L. (2022). Economic aspects of financial literacy in the context of sustainable management. Terra Economicus 20(2), 147-159. DOI: 10.18522/2073-6606-2022-20-2-147-159
Наша статья посвящена финансовой грамотности в контексте обучения молодых людей устойчивому управлению (например, расширение участия молодежи в продвижении Целей устойчивого развития Организации Объединенных Наций) в лице студентов университетов. Основная цель данной работы состояла в том, чтобы оценить отношение молодых людей к управлению средствами и получению знаний, необходимых для использования финансовых механизмов и инструментов. Когда речь идет о формировании устойчивого поведения личности, особое значение в этом процессе приобретает финансовая грамотность. Анкетный опрос был применен в качестве инструмента для сбора первичных данных, которые использованы для подачи эмпирической модели, задействованной в этом исследовании. Выборка из 1437 случайно выбранных респондентов приняла участие в нашем собственном анкетном опросе, подготовленном и проведенном исследовательской группой. Участниками опроса были молодые люди, представленные студентами трех выбранных случайным образом университетов из Чешской Республики. Во-первых, отслеживалась область обзора финансовых ресурсов респондентов. При этом 97,28% опрошенных ответили «да» или «скорее да». В части контроля личных доходов и расходов, т.е. на вопрос о том, составляют ли респонденты собственный бюджет, 81,77% опрошенных ответили «да», и чаще всего это указывает на то, что для данных целей использовались информационные и коммуникационные технологии. В целом наши результаты подтверждают, что уровень финансовой грамотности любого человека влияет на его устойчивые управленческие навыки. Кроме того, становится очевидным, что финансовая грамотность в контекст устойчивого управления играет решающую роль в социальном и экономическом развитии любого общества. Наши результаты могут быть информативными и полезными как для политиков, так и для исследователей, работающих в области продвижения устойчивого поведения и финансовой грамотности путем внедрения эффективного устойчивого образования и повышения эффективные управленческие навыки.
Ключевые слова: поведение; устойчивое управление; финансовая грамотность; финансы; студент; университет
Introduction
The concept of sustainable development is traditionally associated with the environmental issues and concerns. However, the social and economic dimensions also constitute essential parts of the sustainable development, especially with regard to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Agbedahin, 2019; Lu et al., 2019; Chebotareva et al., 2020; Câbelkovâ et al., 2022). Taking this into the account, the emphasis is placed on the corporate responsibility (Bihari and Pradhan, 2011; Decamps et al., 2017; Hohnen and Potts, 2007). Within the framework of sustainable development, it is possible to perceive financial literacy from both an individual and a societal perspective (Kumari and Harikrishnan, 2021). The economic shape of the whole society is a reflection of the economic level of each individual, hence the level of the financial literacy posessed by each individual contributes to state of the economy as a whole (Popescu and Popescu, 2019; Ye and Kalathunga, 2019).
With the growing possibilities in all areas of human lives, the demand for knowledge increases, and so doesthe complexity of decision-making (Leumann and Aprea, 2015). Having some level of understanding how financial skills work and therefore posessing the required financial literacy is clearly a part of the responsible functioning and operation of all individuals in the countries with advanced market economies. This is becoming increasingly difficult, as nowadays in the world full of information resources and numerous decision possibilities, financial literacy is progressively emphasized, especially in the everyday lives of the individuals (Lusardi and Mitchell, 2014; Câbelkovâ and Strielkowski, 2013; Lusardi et al., 2010).
Given the above, there is an growing emphasis on the responsibility of the individual for her or his decisions. People who have adequate financial knowledge and skills can make optimal financial decisions and work effectively with financial service providers (Remund, 2010). They are also more likely to achieve their financial goals and improve their standards of living (Andriani and Nugraha, 2018). At the same time, they can also deal with financial risks and other potential negative effects. Thus, they can support the economic growth and wellbeing of the state (Kaara and Kugu, 2019; Po-trich and Vieira, 2018). Every person's financial situation is affected by this person's management of assets, both financial, movable, and immovable. The ability of sound financial management represents an important condition for good prosperity (Yuesti et al., 2020).
In the same time, the share of university-educated people is growing in the young generation in all countries around the world (most notably in Western market economies). It can be assumed that after entering the productive period of their lives, there will be precisely these persons who are going to occupy the key positions in both private and public sectors and would influence the shape of the whole society with their attitudes and decisions. Financial education for everyone and at any age is therefore very important. This is especially true for the young generation, for whom education in the fields of finance (most notably in the newly emerging fields such as fintech and cryptocurrencies) and financial literacy are very important (Blue and Grootenboer, 2019). Hence, there is a pressing need for the research of the young generation: scientists want to understand what their considerations and decisions about financial resources might be, whether they know the most important concepts of finance, or how their real knowledge of basic terms and quantities can be measured (Caplinska and Ohotina, 2019).
Concerning the sustainable behavior of individuals, financial literacy is gaining importance in all of its aspects. The ways how individuals manage their financial assets and use financial tools and products affects the overall sustainable development of the whole society (Krechovskâ, 2015). Banking and finance, financial products and flows represent one of the essential elements in the modern society. The demand for financial literacy, which is a part of functional literacy, is constantly surging throughout the society (Huston, 2010).
The requirements for financial literacy are growing significantly together with the offer of financial instruments on the financial markets, with their complexity, but also with their ease of use in practice (just to recall the recent rise of fintech) (Opletalovâ and Kvintovâ, 2010; Pavelkovâ et al., 2012). The dynamic development of the financial environment makes it difficult for the average citizen to cope with these changes and make optimal decisions due to the lack of tools and knowledge of basic financial concepts (Davies, 2015). This can lead to the decision-making errors in
the critical economic and financial decisions people face throughout their lives (Arceo-Gomez and Villagomez, 2017; Zait and Bertea, 2014). These facts are causing pressure and lead to the growing demands to boost the level of financial literacy (Sarnovics et al., 2016). Bryant (2013) explains this as follows: "Financial literacy is essential to living a successful and independent life, promoting economic growth, and sustaining it." Table 1 shows the main drivers for financial literacy in the context of tackling climate changes and global warming.
Table 1
Main drivers for financial literacy within the sustainability concept
Complexity of individual needs Compexity of financial products
Growing instabilty of the working life of New distributional channels
individuals
Decrease of social security Deregulation of the financial markets
Increasing personal responsibility Wider range of financial products
Increasing prosperity Increasing amount of information
Increasing indebtedness Increasing dynamics in the development of the
Increasing life expectancy new products
Source: Habschick et al. (2007)
The issue of financial literacy is currently a much-discussed concept among the experts and the general public. Financial illiteracy can result in the problems it causes (ignorance of basic concepts means that an individual is unable to orientate herself or himself within the products on the financial market as well as this market's conditions, indebtedness, execution proceedings, etc.). All this can cause major financial problems that can lead to a crisis that according to Dinwoodie (2010) is caused by lack of knowledge. One of the ways to influence the behavior and habits for individuals and society as a whole in the area of the financial management in the right direction is to ensure a rise of the financial literacy of the young generation (Cole et al., 2014; Sevcik, 2017). Krechovskâ (2015) concludes that financial literacy is the essential knowledge for the formation of the sustainable behavior of every human being. The risks arising from financial illiteracy and their connection with other social problems are presented in Figure 1.
Disadvantages in
personal economic
development
Individual
consequences
Financial
illiteracy
Social descent/over
indebtedness
Limited
Mis allocation
ot private
financial
Sub-optimal market
services/tinan
structures
cial exclusion
Economic
Sub-optimal growth
Affiliation to
consequences
low
income/social
Additional burden tor
class
social welfare system
Fig. 1. y
Source: Habschick, M., Seidl, B., Evers, J. (2007). Survey of financial literacy schemes in the EU27. Financial Services Evers and Jung, Research and Consulting 2007. http://tk.eversjung.de/www/downloads/ report_survey_2007_en.pdf (accessed 12 November 2021)
Figure 1 shows that all the risks and challenges posed by the financial illiteracy of the population exhibit the need to manage own resources more responsibly, in a more sophisticated way, and to a greater extent as well as more efficiently, which requires the necessary skills and knowledge, especially for the current generation of young people1.
Romania
Croatia
Czech Republic
Poland 5,0 53 ЩН 13,1
Portugal 4,0 5,9 13,1
Estonia 4,9 53 13,3
Germany 5,2 5,7 14,0
Slovenia 4,8 6,3 14,7
0,0 5,0 10,0 15,0 20,0
score
knowledge ■ behaviour ■ attitude overall score
Fig. 2. Financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviour (average score)
Source: own elaboration, 2022 based on OECD/INFE (2020). International survey of adult financial literacy. https://www.oecd.org/financial/education/oecd-infe-2020-international-survey-of-adult-finan-cial-literacy.pdf (accessed 10 September 2021)
As Figure 2 illustrates, the OECD average in 2020 was 12.7 points out of 20 in total. Hungary, Romania, and Croatia, for example, are below this average. Germany achieved the highest score and it was followed by Estonia and Poland2.
Financial literacy covers various areas of knowledge. Cash literacy is the competence necessary for the management (and transactions) of cash and non-cash financial assets. Furthermore, the management of tools designed for this purpose (e.g. current account, payment instruments, etc.) is also required. Price literacy is represented by the competencies necessary for understanding price mechanisms and inflation (MFCR, 2021). Budget literacy is represented by the competencies necessary for the management of one's personal or family budget. Budget literacy also includes the ability to manage various life situations from a financial point of view (Syrovy and Tyl, 2014). With regard to thee above, the importance of personal and family financial planning is unquestionable (Mâlek et al., 2010). Attitudes towards finance and achieved financial literacy at a young age are valid tools for making optimal financial decisions that can be intertwined throughout one's life (Calcagno and Monticone, 2015; Jappelli and Padula, 2013). Belâs et al. (2016) state that management and an overview of one's finances create preconditions for a wealthy and prosperous life, not only in the field of finance. This fact is also pointed out by da Silva et al. (2017) who report that the inability to monitor and manage their revenues and expenditures can cause economic and social problems. Thus, in the empirical part of this paper, the attention is focused on an overview and monitoring of personal income and spending as a part of sustainable management.
1 Habschick, M., Seidl, B., Evers, J. (2007). Survey of financial literacy schemes in the EU27. Financial Services Evers and Jung, Research and Consulting 2007. http://tk.eversjung.de/www/downloads/report_survey_2007_en.pdf (accessed 12 November 2021)
2 OECD/INFE (2020). International survey of adult financial literacy. https://www.oecd.org/financial/education/oecd-infe-2020-international-survey-of-adult-financial-literacy.pdf (accessed 10 September 2021)
Research objective and methodology
The paper's theoretical framework was developed by analysing secondary sources drawn from books, scholarly articles, relevant Internet sources, and professional literature using the synthesis of knowledge.
Our primary research on financial literacy was carried out by the means of our own survey, with the actual method used being a questionnaire survey. Respondents of this survey were students (Bachelor's and Master's degree) at the three universities in the Czech Republic: University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice (USB), Mendel University in Brno (MEU), and the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague (CZU). A total of 1.437 randomly selected respondents took part in the questionnaire survey. The respondents were full-time students at three selected universities in the Czech Republic focused, among other things, on agriculture, forestry, as well as veterinary science. At each university, the researchers approached both respondents studying at the faculties focused on economics and respondents studying at faculties not specializing in the fieeld economics. Basic sociodemographic characteristics of respondents are depicted in Table 2 that follows.
Table 2
Basic sociodemographic characteristics of respondents (in %)
Gender Male 42.52
Female 57.48 100
Jihoceska univerzita, 18.02
Ceske Budeıovice (JCU)
University Ceska zemedelska 59.29 100
univerzita v Praze (CZU)
Mendelova univerzita, 22.69
Brno (MEU)
Level of study Bachelor's degree (BD) 66.32
Master's degree (MD) 33.68 100
Economic studies (ECO) 63.40
Field of study Noneconomic studies 36.60 100
(NON-ECO)
Source: own elaboration, 2022
As a part of descriptive statistics, absolute and relative frequencies were used. Furthermore, we also employed the contingency tables. The type of contingency table is determined by the number of rows r and the number of columns s, and it represents a measurement of the overall dissimilarity (Hindls et al., 2007):
Пі. nj
(1)
2
Σ
(frequency observed — frequency expected)I 2 frequency expected
(2)
2 = Σί=! Σ=1 (пц- Шц)2 (3)
* Шц '
I and j are the indexes of rows and columns, m are observed marginal frequencies, n. and n. are marginal totals, n is a grand total of observations, n.. and m..are expected frequencies. The calculated
value is compared to the critical value of a chi-square distribution with (r - 1)(s - 1) degrees of freedom at the level of significance of 0.05. The hypothesis is rejected if it is larger than the table value. This test is valid asymptotically, and thus it can only be applied if there is a sufficient number
of observations. All expected values ought to be higher than one (Hendl, 2015). At the same time, the table should not contain more than 20% theoretical incidence rates (frequencies) of less than 5. Where zero values occur in any of the fields, we proceed to analyze a derived table created by merging a small number of categories. Cramer's V was used to determine the degree of association between the variables. Additionally, the method of adjusted residuals was applied.
The data analysis was focused on the following tested hypotheses:
• H01: An overview of how much money a respondent now has available does not depend on gender.
• H02: An overview of how much money a respondent now has available does not depend on universities.
• H03: The overview of how much money the respondent now has available does not depend on the field of the faculty.
• H04: The overview of how much money the respondent now has available does not depend on the level of study.
• H05: Whether the respondent monitors his personal income and expenses (creates a budget) does not depend on gender.
• H06: Whether the respondent monitors his personal income and expenses (creates a budget) does not depend on the type of university.
• H07: Whether the respondent monitors his personal income and expenses (creates a budget) does not depend on the field of the faculty.
• H08: Whether the respondent monitors his personal income and expenses (creates a budget) does not depend on the level of study.
• H09: The method of monitoring personal income and expenditure (budgeting) does not depend on gender.
• H010: The method of monitoring personal income and expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the university.
• H011: The method of monitoring personal income and expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the field of the faculty.
• H012: The method of monitoring personal income and expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the level of study.
Results and discussion
The first question we asked respondents was whether they had an overview of how much money they could manage (in total in cash, on a current account, in a savings account, savings, etc.). In this case, 77.66% (1,116) respondents answered "yes". They expressed that they certainly had such an overview. Then, 19.62% (282) of respondents said: "rather yes". Only 2.71% (39) of respondents stated that they did not have such an overview (answer "rather not" and "no") - the merging of these types of answers was performed due to the small number of one type of answer. Null hypotheses are shown in Table 3 that follows.
Table 3
An overview of the finances available to the respondent in relation to the variables
Number Critical H0 can be Cramer's
of hyp. Wording of hypotheses X2 value rejected V
H01 An overview of how much money a respondent had at 7,81 - -
her/his availability does not depend on gender 6,82
H02 An overview of how much money a respondent had 36,77 9,49 X 0,11
did not depend on universities
H03 The overview of how much money the respondent had 1,46 5,99 - -
did not depend on the field of the faculty
H04 The overview of how much money the respondent had 0,55 7,81 - -
did not depend on the level of study
As the Table 4 listing the overview of hypotheses shows, the dependence in relation to one variable (university) was proved. The answers are shown in Table 4.
Table 4
An overview of the respondent about how much money had in relation to the university
Yes Rather yes Rather no, no Total
University Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative
/ response frequen¬ frequencies frequen¬ frequencies frequen¬ frequencies frequen¬ frequencies
cies within uni¬ cies within uni¬ cies within uni¬ cies within uni¬
versity versity versity versity
JCU 176 67,95 % 70 27,03 % 13 5,02 % 259 100 %
MEU 234 71,78 % 79 24,23 % 13 3,99 % 326 100 %
CZU 706 82,86 % 133 15,61 % 13 1,53 % 852 100 %
Total 1 116 77,67 % 282 19,63 % 39 2,70 % 1 437 100 %
Value of adjusted residuals /sign notation Statistics
JCU -4,14 --- 3,31 +++ 2,52 + χ2 > Crit. value
MEU -2,90 --- 2,38 + 1,61 0 36,77 > 9,49
CZU 5,71 +++ -4,62 --- -3,35 ---
Source: own elaboration, 2022
The results in Table 4 show that the null hypothesis can be rejected (χ2 test is higher than the critical value). The statistic Cramer's V is at the level of 0.11 and thus corresponds to a weak dependence. The difference between theoretical and empirical frequencies was verified using adjusted residues, which are supplemented by the sign notation. The difference between the frequencies was demonstrated at a significance level of 0.001 in the answers "yes" and "rather yes".
In terms of the analysis of personal income and expenditure, the question of whether respondents created their own budget, 81.77% (1,175) of people answered "yes." Respondents who did not record their income and expenditure and therefore did not create their budget were approximately one-fifth of the total number of survey participants, namely 18.23% (262 persons). Table 5 shows the tested hypotheses.
Table 5
Monitoring of revenue and expenditure (budgeting) in relation to variables
Number Critical H0 Cramer's
of hyp. Wording of hypotheses X2 value can be V
rejected
Whether the respondent monitors her/his personal
H05 income and expenses (creates a budget) does not 1,41 3,84 - -
depend on gender
Whether the respondent monitors her/his personal
H06 income and expenses (creates a budget) does not 1,96 5,99 - -
depend on the type of university
Whether the respondent monitors her/his personal
H07 income and expenses (creates a budget) does not 4,47 3,84 X 0,07
depend on the field of the faculty
Whether the respondent monitors her/his personal
H08 income and expenses (creates a budget) does not 1,99 3,84 - -
depend on the level of study
The tested hypotheses showed thedependence on only one variable. The dependence is very low (0.07). Table 6 lists the answers in a greater detail.
Table 6
Monitoring of revenues and expenditures (budgeting) in relation to the field of study
Yes No Total
Specialization Relative Relative Relative
of the faculty / Absolute frequencies Absolute frequencies Absolute frequencies
response frequencies within frequencies within frequencies within
faculties faculties faculties
ECO 730 80,13 % 181 19,87 % 911 100 %
NON-ECO 445 84,60 % 81 15,40 % 526 100 %
Total 1 175 81,77 % 262 18,23 % 1 437 100 %
Value of adjusted residuals/siqn notation Statistics
ECO -2,11 - 2,11 + χ2> Critic. value
NON-ECO 2,11 + -2,11 - 4,47 > 3,84
Source: own elaboration, 2022
The results from Table 6 show that the null hypothesis can be rejected (χ2 test is higher than the critical value). The value of Cramer's V is at the level of 0.06 and thus corresponds to a very weak dependence. The adjusted residue method complements the results of specific responses. The sign notation shows that the monitoring of income and expenditure, i.e., the choice of "yes" (84.60%), was more often chosen by the students of the non-economically oriented faculties (i.e. the people who are less educated in the field of finance).
Chmelikovâ (2015) drew the same conclusion from a similar study, albeit with a lesser extent. According to her, n comparison with the research of financial literacy in the general adult population in the Czech Republic, university students are more responsible for creating their overview of income and expenditure.
Following the above question, it was also found out how respondents monitored their income and expenses. In the next question, therefore, only those respondents who stated that they monitored their income and expenses and created their own budget provided a meaningful response (there were 1,175 respondents in total). Table 7 shows the results of the null tested hypotheses.
Table 7
Method of monitoring income and expenditure in relation to the variables
Number Critical H0 Cramer's
of hyp. Wording of hypotheses X2 value can be V
rejected
H09 The method of monitoring personal income and 14,66 5,99 X 0,11
expenditure (budgeting) does not depend on gender
H010 The method of monitoring personal income and 10,50 9,49 X 0,10
expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the university
H011 The method of monitoring personal income and 1,35 7,81 - -
expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the faculty
The method of monitoring personal income and
H012 expenses (budgeting) does not depend on the level of 0,67 7,81 - -
study
The table with an overview of hypotheses shows that the method of monitoring personal income and expenditure and thus budgeting depends on two monitored variables. Tables 8 and 9 show more detailed answers. Our findings reveal that the most common option for respondents to monitor income and expenses is the electronic format (Excel, applications for the budget on a mobile phone, as well as other tools). In total, 68.94% (810) of respondents chose to monitor income electronically (using information and communication tools and technolgies). Another standard answer was "I imagine it myself" (the idea of the respondents), which was chosen by 23.23% (273) of respondents. The least used option for monitoring income and expenditure was the paper form ("on paper" option), which was mentioned by only 7.83% (92) of respondents.
Table 8
Method of monitoring income and expenditure in relation to the respondent's gender
Electronic form The idea of the Paper form Total
respondents
Gender/ Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative
response frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬
cies cies with¬ cies cies with¬ cies cies with¬ cies cies with¬
in gender in gender in gender in gender
Female 468 68,42 % 146 21,35 % 70 10,23 % 684 100 %
Male 342 69,65 % 127 25,87 % 22 4,48 % 491 100 %
Total 810 68,94 % 273 23,23 % 92 7,83 % 1437 100 %
Value of adjusted residuals /sign notation Statistics
Female -0,45 0 -1,81 0 3,62 +++ χ2 > Critic. value
Male 0,45 0 1,81 0 -3,62 --- 14,66 > 5,99
Source: own results
The critical value (at the significance level of 0.05) is lower than statistic of chi-square test which means that the null hypothesis can be rejected. Thus, the relationship between the method of monitoring the personal income and expenditure, as well as the gender of the respondent was proved. The value of Cramer's V is at the level of 0.11 and thus corresponds to a weak dependence.
The dependence of the method of monitoring income and expenditure was also reflected in relation to another variable. The structure of the answers is provided in Table 9.
Table 9
Method of monitoring income and expenditure in relation to the university
Electronic form The idea of the Paper form Total
respondents
University Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative Absolute Relative
/ response frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬ frequen¬
cies cies within cies cies within cies cies within cies cies within
university university university university
JCU 146 71,57 % 47 23,04 % 11 5,39 % 204 100 %
MEU 166 61,48 % 76 28,15 % 28 10,37 % 270 100 %
CZU 498 71,04 % 150 21,40 % 53 7,56 % 701 100 %
Total 810 68,94 % 273 23,23 % 92 7,83 % 1 175 100 %
Value of adjusted residuals /sign notation Statistics
JCU 0,89 0 -0,07 0 -1,43 0 χ2 > Critic. value
MEU -3,02 --- 2,18 + 1,77 0 10,50 > 9,49
CZU 1,90 0 -1,81 0 -0,42 0
Critical value (at the significance level of 0.05) is lower than statistic of chi-square test. The value of Cramer's V is at the level of 0.10 and therefore shows a very weak dependence. This was confirmed by an analysis using adjusted residues, which indicates that the theoretical and empirical frequencies are indeed small to a small extent. The result is also supplemented by the results of adjusted residues, which indicate a difference especially for students studying MEU in relation to the electronic monitoring of their financial situation, where this variant was chosen by MEU students (61.48%) less than respondents two other universities.
Many countries with advanced economies currently emphasize the financial literacy of the population (especialy young adults and youth). This gradually leads to the collection of relevant data reflecting the actual state of financial literacy (and all section of financial literacy) of individual population groups (generations) in order to find potential for improvement (Goyal and Kumar, 2020; Kubâk, et al., 2018). So far, the financial literacy of university students and its evaluation appears to be a less widespread topic (Gerrans and Heaney, 2016; Philippas and Avdoulas, 2019).
For the participants of our questionnaire survey, the most common way of creating and monitoring their expenses and earnings was the electronic processing, while in the general population, keeping it in the written form predominated3. The difference is probably due to the age difference due to the fact that the respondents to the survey were young adults - university students who make extensive use of modern technologies, which they consider to be an integral part of their lives (Schmidt et al., 2011). Here, we have to note that a large body of research focuses on financial literacy in the context of knowledge and gender and notes the dependencies in these variables (Bottazzi and Lusardi, 2020; Hsu et al., 2021). The most frequently mentioned reason why the people lack an overview of their income and expenses, was a lack of interest in this activity for men and a lack of time for women. It is interesting that Chmelikovâ (2015) also came to the same conclusions in her research. In addition, Kubâk et al., (2018) and Peng et al., (2007) believe that studying economics improves financial literacy.
Conclusions
Overall, the main goal of this paper was to assess the financial literacy of young people within the context of increasing their awareness of sustainable management that can be fostered via the proper sustainable education. We wanted to see the differences of how young people manage their finances compared to the older people and how their decisions can be shaped by the sustainable education and the principles of sustainability. It turns our that young people (represented in our sample by the selection of students from the three large universities in the Czech Republic) tend to be keener on using electronic records and information and communication technologies when managing their incomes and expenses (thence, opting out for a more "greener", less energy-efficient, and a more environmentally friendly approach).
In the area of financial management, respondents were first asked if they had an overview of how much money they had at their disposal (total cash, current account, savings account, savings, etc.). 77.66% (1,116) of the respondents answered "yes," i.e., they certainly had such an overview. 19.62% (282) of respondents said "rather yes," and only 2.71% (39) of respondents stated that they did not have such an overview (answer "rather no" and "no"). In this case, the dependence on the type of school studied was proved (the unequivocal answer "yes" prevailed among the students from the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague). In terms of monitoring personal income and expenditure, i.e., in the question of whether respondents create their own budget, 81.77% (1,175) of people answered "yes." The tested hypotheses showed dependence on only one variable (field of faculty). Results show that the method of monitoring personal income and expenditure and thus budgeting depends on two monitored variables (university and field of faculty). The electronic method (Excel spreadsheet, smartphone) was the most often used one to monitor the incomes and expenses (68.94%). The paper form was the one least used (7.83%).
3 PPM factum research - Vysledky mereni financni gramotnosti 2015, Ministerstvo financni CR: Proc se financne vzdelâvat? https://www.psfV. cz/cs/pro-odbomiky/mereni-urovne-financni-gramotnosti/2015/mereni-urovne-financni-gramotnosti-2784 (accessed 5 November 2021)
Therefore, one can conclude that in all its aspects, financial literacy is an indispensable part of everyone's life. This is the basic knowledge that creates the space for good decision-making, financial management, and, last but not least, can lead to the prosperity of the entire economy. Our results reveal that a certain level of financial literacy is an essential element of sustainable financial management.
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