THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL LITERACY ON INVESTMENT BEHAVIOUR WITHIN ROMANIA

Abstract

Financial literacy plays an important role in the investment behavior of households and companies within an economy. The increase in financial literacy might be influenced by the government’s actions, as well as by the public events organized by financial institutions. This study aims to analyze the level of financial literacy within Romania by using a questionnaire. Obtaining 117 responses from 22 different fields of activity, the main findings show that respondents present a more advanced financial literacy level than those presented in previous empirical studies conducted so far in Romania. This might be explained by the high number of seminars offered free by financial institutions lately. Nevertheless, the media promotes constantly the importance of possessing financial knowledge. These results have significant implications for investment behavior. Those who are characterized by a higher level of financial knowledge are more inclined to save money or to invest in stock shares or bonds

Keywords

• financial literacy
• investment behavior
• emerging economies