The Role of Education and Financial Literacy in Students’ Saving and Investment Behaviour in Sweden

Abstract

As younger adults start to actively invest more, understanding what drives saving and investing behavior among students is important. This is especially interesting in a country like Sweden where education is publicly funded and students have access to student loans. This study investigates how financial literacy, educational background, and demographic factors relate to saving and investment behaviors and student loan uptake among Swedish students. To do so, we report evidence from a survey that is distributed to 16 000 students from eight different faculties at Gothenburg University (GU), resulting in 926 responses. We find that students with higher objective and/or self-assessed (quiz vs. self-rating) financial literacy tend to save and invest significantly more than their peers. Students studying at the School of Business, Economics and Law (Handelshögskolan/Handels) are also found to be strong predictors of higher levels of saving and investing activity. We also report gender gaps, with male students reporting higher risk preferences, confidence, and investment engagement.