Financial Literacy Assessment in Households: Strategizing Personal Financing in Russia

The authors developed a method to assess the current financial literacy level of Russian households. The method relies on the econometric modeling tools and indicators from the course of basic financial literacy designed by the Central Bank of Russian Federation. The resulting assessment algorithm for financial literacy consists of five stages and three categories of financial literacy with a total score of 0–100. According to the empirical part of this research, the average financial literacy level was medium bordering on high, with occasional households with advanced financial culture. The correlation and regression analysis focused on the effect that the indicators highlighted by the Central Bank of Russian Federation had on the national gross domestic product. As all factors related to saving, investments, mortgage, and insurance grew, so did the gross domestic product. This correlation may indicate an indirect economic stimulus due to the consumption of financial services by Russian households. As stipulated by National Strategy 2030, personal financial strategizing is to shift from improving the average national financial literacy to a new national financial culture. The conceptual assessment algorithm can be used in other countries: it is flexible enough to allow for new indicators and adjustments.