Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-5xszh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-27T16:08:32.853Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Financial literacy and retirement planning in Japan*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2011

SHIZUKA SEKITA
Affiliation:
Kyoto Sangyo University (e-mail: sekita@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp)

Abstract

The level of financial literacy is not high in Japan. Although a majority of respondents were able to correctly answer a simple question about interest rates, more than half were not able to correctly answer a question about risk diversification. Many respondents stated they did not know the answer to the financial literacy questions, which might indicate that Japanese are very cautious and only answer when confident in their response. Women, the young, and those with lower incomes and lower educational attainment have the lowest levels of financial literacy, and financial literacy increases the probability of having a retirement savings plan.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ameriks, John, Caplin, Andrew, and Leahy, John (2003) Wealth accumulation and the propensity to plan. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118: 10071047.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusardi, Annamaria (2003) Planning and Saving for Retirement. Dartmouth College Working Paper.Google Scholar
Lusardi, Annamaria and Mitchell, Olivia S. (2007) Baby boomer retirement security: The roles of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth. Journal of Monetary Economics, 54, 205224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusardi, Annamaria, and Mitchell, Olivia S. (2009) How Ordinary Consumers Make Complex Economics Decisions: Financial Literacy and Retirement Readiness. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. w15350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lusardi, Annamaria, and Mitchell, Olivia S. (2011) Financial literacy and planning: implications for retirement wellbeing. In Lusardi, Annamaria and Mitchell, Olivia S. (eds), Financial Literacy: Implications for Retirement Security and the Financial Marketplace. Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Sekita, Shizuka (2011) Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Japan. Netspar Discussion Paper No. 01/2011-016.Google Scholar
Stock, James H., Wright, Jonathan H. and Yogo, Motohiro (2002) A survey of weak instruments and weak identification in generalized method of moments. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 20: 518529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Rooij, Maarten, Lusardi, Annamaria, and Alessie, Rob (2011) Financial literacy and stock market participation. Journal of Financial Economics, 101: 449472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar