Financial Literacy Influencing Factors Analysis: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Case

Every citizen can be financially and economically active in certain circumstances if he or she has competencies, such as financial literacy. Current academic research suggests that financial literacy may be more important than income level and professional qualifications, as the decisive factor in the future will not be the amount of financial resources available to a person but the ability to manage them effectively and achieve their goals. Financial literacy competencies help different social groups to achieve private financial stability, acquire skills such as private financial planning, savings (including the third pillar of pensions), and their diversification, private capital multiplication, and openness to new business initiatives. The study aims to find out how financial literacy has developed in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Particular attention is paid to factors influencing the level of financial literacy. Research methods used are analysis of scientific publications and previously conducted research, analysis of surveys’ data on financial literacy and their factors, comparative time-scale analysis using regression trendline calculations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The research results proved the impact and interconnection of main financial inclusion aspects such as account ownership, use of the Internet, availability of ATMs, and bank offices on financial literacy level. The main factor influencing the demand side of financial services is numeracy knowledge; a strong correlation has been found between PISA mathematics average scores for countries and their literacy level. The analyzed savings factor (voluntary savings for pension, life insurance, and investments in mutual funds) showed a heterogeneous situation – the ranks of countries differed from the financial literacy levels. It draws the attention of government policy-makers to attract citizens to these long-term investment and social security products by strengthening the supply side of the financial services.