Research On Gender Differences Of Chinese Residents' Financial Literacy

Financial Literacy,which refers to the ability to use financial skills to make sound financial decisions,based on the understanding of various financial concepts,and from the perspective of improving individual or family financial well-being.Foreign studies on financial literacy started earlier.Various nationwide surveys of financial literacy show that the level of financial literacy in countries around the world is generally low no matter the financial markets are developed like the United States,Germany,the Netherlands,Japan,Australia,or the financial market is rapidly changing such as Russia and Romania.Moreover,there are obvious gender differences in financial literacy,and it is generally expressed that men have higher financial literacy than women.However,the government and scholars'emphasis on financial literacy has promoted the continuous development of foreign financial education.The United States,Britain,Canada,Australia and other countries have established specialized agencies responsible for nationwide financial education,which raising financial education to the national level and promoting financial education and financial market development complement each other.With the continuous promotion of inclusive finance in China,various financial products and financial institutions began to cover more people and regions.However,the use of financial products and participation in financial markets of the households and individuals which are the demand-side still need to improve.At present,the level of financial literacy of Chinese consumers has begun to receive attention,and the relationship between financial literacy and household financial behavior has gradually become an important research topic of household finance.The rapid development of financial markets and changes in financial innovation have make financial products become more diversified and complex.The self-financial service brought by the Internet imposes higher requirements on individuals' financial literacy.Therefore,having a good financial literacy is more and more important to adapt to the current financial environment.Mastering the necessary financial literacy is a prerequisite for rational financial decision-making.At present,what is the overall level of financial literacy among Chinese residents and whether there is a gender difference?If so,what is the reason for this gender difference?Is it just because of differences in the characteristics of individuals that endogenously arise,or is it affected by the external environment and personal experience.Nowadays,China lacks systematic financial education,individual differences the level of consumer financial literacy are large,the overall level is uneven,and the time and background of personal contact with the financial sector are all different.Therefore,the access to financial literacy maybe the important factors that affect the level of financial literacy.As a kind of special human capital,the learning ability is also an important factor influencing the financial literacy.In general,the higher the education level,the stronger the learning ability.In China,the differences in the social status of "male pride" and the traditional view "men are responsible for work,women are looking after the family" have always existed,and the resulting differences in gender identities often affect their access to education,work and the distribution of family decision-making powers.Will these differences indirectly affect the financial literacy of men and women?This article will proceed from those perspectives and use empirical regression analysis and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to study the causes of gender differences in finance literacy of Chinese residents,in order to find ways to reduce gender differences and improve the overall level of residents' financial literacy in China.This article contains a total of seven chapters,the specific contents and conclusions are as follows:The first chapter is the introduction of this article.It mainly expounds the research background and significance of the research,outlines the main research contents and research methods used,presents the technology roadmap,and puts forward some possible innovations and deficiencies in this paper.The second chapter is a literature review both at home and abroad.It classifies and summarizes the literature on financial literacy at home and abroad.It divides the current research content of financial literacy into three aspects including the definition and measurement of financial literacy,the relationship between financial literacy and household financial behavior,influencing factors of financial literacy.At last,putting forward the research perspectives of this paper based on the review of existing research.In the third chapter,based on the introduction of the data sources,the metrics and measure methods of financial literacy,this chapter analyzes the status quo of Chinese residents' financial literacy.This paper uses data from the China Family Tracking Survey(CFPS)in 2014 to measure financial literacy and classify financial literacy into two major aspects:objective financial literacy and subjective financial literacy.Objective financial knowledge is divided into basic financial literacy and advanced financial literacy.In terms of the measure methods,objective financial literacy is mainly measured by the sum of the scores of the questions and the comprehensive score of the factor analysis.The subjective financial literacy level is mainly measured by the self-evaluation of the respondents.As a result,it was found that the overall level of objective financial literacy of Chinese residents is low,and the individual differences are large.The accuracy rate of advanced financial literacy is far lower than that of basic financial literacy.Subjective financial evaluation is low,and a large proportion is self-abasement residents.The fourth chapter is the analysis of the group differences in the financial literacy of residents in China.On the basis of the third chapter,according to the seven criteria of age,gender,type of residence,years of schooling,risk attitude,income level,and region,they are classified according to different criteria and a descriptive statistical analysis of the samples is performed.As a result,it has been found that the group differences in the level of financial literacy among Chinese residents are significant,and the level of financial literacy among different groups shows a clear trend of change.The fifth chapter focuses on the analysis of the gender differences in the financial literacy of residents in China,Divided into two sub-samples of men and women,compare their respective averages to obtain the mean difference,and conduct an inter-group t-test.As a result,it was found that the gender differences in financial literacy are significant and the financial literacy of men is higher than women.The sixth chapter empirically studies the gender differences in financial literacy.Firstly,multiple regression models were used to verify that gender is an important factor influencing financial literacy.Then Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition was used on the basis of multiple regression to obtain the main reasons for the gender differences in financial literacy.Finally,a subsample regression and SUR test were used to study the core factors which can narrow the gender gap in financial literacy.It was found that increasing the level of education and the use of the Internet can reduce gender differences in financial literacy,and whether or not participation in family investment decisions has no significant effect on gender differences in financial literacy.The seventh chapter is the research conclusion and policy suggestion of this article.On the basis of various descriptive statistical analysis and empirical analysis mentioned above,the research conclusions of this paper are summed up.Finally,it proposes corresponding policy recommendations for improving the financial knowledge level of our residents and establishing China's financial education system.