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Building Financial and Health Literacy at Older Ages: The Role of Online Information

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  • Hessam Bavafa
  • Junhao Liu
  • Anita Mukherjee

Abstract

Improving financial and health literacy is an important step in reducing economic vulnerability in older age, yet the means by which individuals accumulate these types of human capital remains an open question. This article evaluates the impact of online search activities on the levels of financial and health literacy. We find that using the internet for such information increases literacy significantly: doing so frequently (versus not at all) increases financial literacy by 16%, and health literacy by 12%. Our results are robust to alternative measures of financial literacy. They are also robust to an instrumental variable approach using other web skills such as email use to proxy for how individuals use the internet.

Suggested Citation

  • Hessam Bavafa & Junhao Liu & Anita Mukherjee, 2019. "Building Financial and Health Literacy at Older Ages: The Role of Online Information," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 877-916, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jconsa:v:53:y:2019:i:3:p:877-916
    DOI: 10.1111/joca.12238
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    Cited by:

    1. Craig Wesley Carpenter & Scott Loveridge & Maureen Mickus, 2021. "Research note: Age, retirement, and intertemporal resource decision ability," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 542-555, June.
    2. Chengbo Li & Mengyao Liu & Jin Zhou & Mei Zhang & Huanchang Liu & Yuting Wu & Hui Li & George W. Leeson & Tingting Deng, 2022. "Do Health Information Sources Influence Health Literacy among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Urban Areas of Western China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Paolo Franco, 2023. "Older consumers and technology: A critical systematic literature review," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 13(1), pages 92-121, June.

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