Literacia financeira em portugal: o caso dos alunos inscritos pela primeira vez no ensino superior

Introduction: Financial literacy has been in focus during the last decades. Some studies report that Portugal ranks in one of the worst positions in the European Union in terms of financial literacy. Thus, it is important to develop studies that could contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. Objective: Assess the level of financial literacy of Portuguese first-year college students, considering the impact of age, gender, academic background, and parents’ education. Methods: The sample comprises 255 responses from Portuguese students attending bachelor's courses. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate if age, gender, academic background, and parents’ education impact the odds of having a high level of financial literacy. Results: 62,4% of the students have a low level of financial literacy. Moreover, age, being a man, and having chosen a business-related course as the first option when applying for higher education systems positively impact the odds of having a high level of financial literacy. Conclusion: This study contributes by considering the impact of important variables on the financial literacy level, which allows governments to make policy interventions targeted at enhancing financial literacy. This group of individuals is relevant because most have not made any major financial decisions, and it is still possible to intervene. The most vulnerable individuals are female students who didn’t choose a business-related course as their first option when applying for college.