The U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Agriculture convened the National Research Symposium on Financial Literacy and Education on October 6-7, 2008 in Washington, DC. Twenty-nine experts from the fields of behavioral and consumer economics, financial risk assessment and financial education evaluation were invited to summarize existing research findings, identify gaps in the literature, and define and prioritize questions for future analysis. Participants included academics from public and private universities and scholars and administrators from non-profit organizations and government officials. Numerous individuals also attended as observers. This document summarizes the proceedings of the symposium. The two-day symposium featured four discussion groups on the topics of behavior theory application, consumer economic socialization, financial education and program evaluation, and financial risk assessment.On day one, participants presented key research findings in their assigned topic area and outlined the most pressing research gaps. A discussion with the whole group followed. On day two, topic area groups met separately to prioritize key research questions in their respective topic area. The decisions made by each team were reported to the whole group. The total group then discussed and agreed upon ten recommended research priorities.
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The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Take Charge America Institute at the University of Arizona, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis invited a small group of researchers and practitioners to discuss how to improve the evaluation and metrics of youth financial education programs. The meeting focused specifically on youth — which we defined as individuals under the age of 25 – in an effort to distinguish this effort from others that have discussed financial education research more broadly. The goal for the meeting was to help create a research agenda that would move the field towards the development of clearly defined outcomes for youth financial education, metrics for capturing ROI, and quality standards for curriculum and delivery that would serve as “best practices” for educators seeking to offer effective financial education interventions.