Research Seminar by Prof. Paweł Kuśmierczyk

Date: 23-09-2024, Monday, 11:40-13:00 

Location: Institute of Finance – Room E.279.1. (Corvinus main building E, second floor) 

Abstract of the lecture given by Paweł Kuśmierczyk, a Wroclaw University of Economics and Business: 

Main pWhen assessing financial literacy, researchers use multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and interpret the number of correct answers as a measure of knowledge. In this study, we focus on the recognized methodological biases of this approach, recommending alternative ways of modelling the phenomenon of knowledge. Introducing a novel method of analysis allows us to estimate the percentage of respondents displaying specific characteristics (e.g., being highly confident), while maintaining control over the employed knowledge modelling method. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of respondents’ behaviours. Moreover, our modelling framework presents an opportunity to validate existing datasets based on MCQs, which allows to assess the magnitude of the respondents’ confidence and its impact on the assessed knowledge measures for any available dataset, without a need for a dedicated study. 

“We demonstrate the applicability of our approach by re-examining the results of several past studies conducted worldwide, with particular attention on knowledge differences between male and female respondents. As the gender gap (higher financial knowledge of men compared to women) is a commonly reported phenomenon, our cross-country analysis sheds new light on it, showing if – and to what extent – it could be due to an oversimplified interpretation of people’s responses in the questionnaires.” 

Joint work with Prof. Marek Kośny, Dr. Radosław Kurach. 

• Read Prof. Paweł Kuśmierczyk’s publications: https://scholar.google.pl/citations?user=_jAjresAAAAJ&hl=pl  

Consult the schedule of upcoming seminars: https://sites.google.com/view/finance-seminars/schedule 

Please note that this Microsoft Teams link is only in case you are unable to join the seminar at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Institute of Finance, E.279.1. However, the meeting will be generally held offline.