Towards the Practical Evaluation of Financial Literacy: Latvian Survey

Financial literacy of individuals, the factors contributing to the level of financial knowledge, as well as tools for improving financial competence are frequently discussed topics in the academic papers. Most attention is paid to the measuring issues, because this is an initial step of developing a national strategy to enhance citizens’ financial literacy level. Measuring process requires a clear understanding of the concept, underlying components and an appropriate evaluation instrument. The current paper reflects the results of the authors’ conducted survey, based on the sample of 169 respondents. A set of 12 questions on financial matters was developed to detect perceived importance and complexity of financial literacy components, as well as to get financial literacy self-assessment scores. Data was processed by means of SPSS 20.0, applying such methods, as analysis of means, analysis of frequencies and independent samples t-test. Received results assist to precise the content and wording of questions to be included into the questionnaire for evaluation financial literacy level of Latvian citizens.