Financial literacy in Switzerland

Abstract

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, it became obvious that Swiss private households were increasingly exposed to complex and dynamic financial markets. Similarly, they had a higher individual responsibility for financial and retirement planning as the state did not protect them sufficiently from market failure. Since then, if not earlier, there has been a strong political claim in Switzerland to support financial literacy, not only in compulsory education, but also in further education to avoid private debt and to strengthen financial provision. Surprisingly, only a few empirical studies exist which disclose the level of financial literacy in Switzerland and demonstrate the relation between financial literacy and financial behaviour. The purpose of this chapter is thus to analyse how financial education is implemented in Swiss schools, and second to outline to what extent financial literacy among Swiss people has been examined in empirical studies so far.