Tilburg University contributes to financial literacy among young people
On March 20, the first day of Global Money Week, Tilburg University and Nibud (National Institute for Family Finance Information) provided a guest lecture and a knowledge session on the topic of ‘Young people & money’ at CURIO, a school for secondary vocational education (MBO). The reason is the EU-funded ANGLE project ‘A Network Game for Lifecycle Education’. This project is aimed to enhance the financial literacy among young people, enabling them to make sound financial decisions.
Besides Nibud and Tilburg University, various international partners participate in the project, which is coordinated by the Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies (CeRP - Collegio Carlo Alberto) in Turin, Italy. Tilburg University contributes with Professor of Econometrics Arthur van Soest, given his expertise in the field of financial behavior of individuals and households.
“It is common knowledge that financial literacy among the young is low. It is in their own interest as well as in that of society as a whole that they are equipped to make wise decisions. That would ultimately increase prosperity,” Arthur says.
You are never too young to learn to manage money well
Professor of Econometrics Arthur van Soest
The life-cycle principle is central to the ANGLE project: young people should be made aware that the financial decisions they make now have consequences in the long term. Arthur: “We know that people find it hard to consider a long-time horizon. As the consequences of a decision lie further into the future, people will behave less and less rationally.”
Within the project, Arthur van Soest is mainly responsible for the development of a series of booklets around important decision moments, such as choosing a career as an investment in the future, balancing savings, investment, and debt, buying or renting a home, and planning for retirement. Examples have been chosen to link up with young adults’ perceptions and experience, for instance, investment in crypto currencies. The booklets formed the basis for a board game that was tested among young people several times during its development, including students and pupils in secondary education. The material for the guest lecture on March 20 was also taken from these booklets. There was a demonstration of the board game.
In Arthur’s opinion, the added value of the ANGLE project is that it found ways different from the classical ones to make young people think twice about financial decisions. “Apart from the fact that the game can help young people gain knowledge and skills in an interactive way, it may also arouse their interest in the subject. You are never too young to learn to manage money well.”
The ANGLE project was started up in 2020 and will be concluded in the course of 2023. More information on the project is available on the Tilburg University website.
