Gender Differences in Financial Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior

Studies have repeatedly shown that women answer less financial knowledge questions correctly than men. Hence, they are often identified to be a financially ‘vulnerable’ group who needs more attention in financial education. This paper explores if this holds true for the Austrian population. A survey among 2,000 respondents reveals that Austrian men outperform women in terms of knowledge, even if we control for different socio-demographic characteristics and response behavior. However, according to their self-assessment women seem to be less prone to spending money instead of saving it, are more risk averse and watch their financial status more closely. A regression analysis reveals that while knowledge, attitudes and behavior are relevant for explaining financial well-being, gender clearly is not.