Essays in Financial Literacy and Financial Behaviors.

Summary For several years, households have been facing a process of increasing financial responsibility. In this context, do individuals have sufficient financial skills to make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth accumulation, debt and retirement? What solutions can be considered to mitigate the negative effects of lack of financial literacy? This thesis contributes to answering these two questions through an assessment of financial education in France and its links to financial behavior and through the study of the determinants of financial education over the long term and potential solutions to the lack of financial education. I show that financial education levels in France are within the international average with heterogeneous levels between population subgroups. I also document the fact that financial education can influence financial behavior, notably by promoting participation in financial markets and long-term financial planning. I also question the role of financial advisors as an alternative to financial education and show that they are not a substitute for it. Finally, I establish that late life education is significantly related to certain educational and cognitive factors in early life but also to financial fragility over the life cycle. This last result has important implications for the development of targeted financial education programs.