Multinomial logistic regression to estimate the financial education and financial knowledge of university students in Chile

Abstract

All individuals face decisions during their lifetime that directly influence the economic well-being of their families. Therefore, financial education can be a fundamental tool to maximize our economic resources and use them wisely. A virtual survey was administered to 410 volunteer students belonging to a public university in southern Chile. The objective was to determine the level of financial knowledge and appreciation of financial education of future professionals. The most important results demonstrate a reality in which young people said they had the habit of saving and budgeting at home and were responsible for paying their bills on time. However, only a very small number of participants claimed having a superior level of knowledge regarding financial literacy. The main challenge for universities is to include this topic in the elective curriculum of all degree programs to promote financial criterion development that contributes to the comprehensive training and professional competencies of future graduates.