CONFERENCES
The OEE regularly organises seminars and conferences where researchers and academics present and discuss the results of their research. The aim of these events is to encourage debate and exchange not only within the academic world but also between academics and professionals alike.
Presentations that were made during our conferences have been classified according to the three following themes:
- Savings & Indebtedness Behaviours
- Savings Products
- Regulation, Tax Systems & Intermedition
Events that the OEE has participated in have also been included.
February 8, 2013:
Are Europeans lacking in financial literacy?
The OEE organised a conference on Financial Literacy. This conference included the presentation and discussion of two studies recently conducted for the OEE:
- The number of households that hold shares directly or via investment funds changes dramatically across countries within Europe. However, among households that invest, the portion of shares held relative to these kinds of assets is very similar from one country to another. Using a sample of over 50s in 11 European countries, Tullio Jappelli (University of Naples Federico II) and Mario Padula (University "Ca' Foscari" of Venezia) attempt to explain this paradox. More specifically, they measure the impact of financial literacy and the "generosity" of country-specific retirement benefits on saving behaviour.
- Michael Haliassos and Nicola Fuchs-Schuendeln (Goethe University Frankfurt) work on a unique case of "experimental economics". They compare the saving and borrowing behaviours of those coming from East Germany with those from the West since the German reunification. They reveal a rapid convergence of households with the same socioeconomic characteristics even when there are differences in levels of financial literacy.
