Bridging the financial literacy gap: Structural, cognitive, and situational disadvantage in adolescence
Financial education
Fecha: julio 2025
Financial and Digitalization Research, Funcas
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 14 N.º4 (July 2025)
Despite widespread recognition of the importance of financial literacy, proficiency among adolescents remains uneven across varying socioeconomic and educational contexts. A typological framework helps clarify these disparities by distinguishing between cognitive disadvantages, structural disadvantages, and situational disadvantages that shape financial literacy outcomes among 15-year-olds. Drawing on international PISA data and a novel classification of risk factors, allows for the quantification of the independent and cumulative impact of each type of disadvantage on student performance. Cognitive deficits in math and reading are the strongest predictors of poor financial outcomes, followed by socioeconomic background and lack of exposure to financial concepts in school or at home. Importantly, research highlights the high modifiability of situational disadvantage through targeted educational interventions, while also drawing attention to the necessity of strong foundational skills in math and reading to combat cognitive disadvantages. Schools can play a pivotal role in leveling the playing field by integrating financial education into the core curriculum and improving instruction in the basic academic skills necessary for financial literacy, combining educational reform with broader social equity goals to prepare all adolescents for the financial demands of adult life.