MIFE-conference on the topic “Financial Literacy in the Age of Digitalisation”
The 5th annual conference of the MIFE took place on November 19 at ZEW Mannheim and focused on the topic of “Financial Literacy in the Age of Digitalization.” 120 registered conference participants discussed current scientific contributions on the development of robo-advisors and the role of games and digital technologies in financial education. In addition to the role of the German Federal Bank in financial education, the strategy paper on financial education in the European Union published by the European Commission in September was also discussed.
To kick off the conference, the directors of the Mannheim Institute for Financial Education (MIFE), Prof. Dr. Carmela Aprea (University of Mannheim) and Prof. Dr. Tabea Bucher-Koenen (ZEW and University of Mannheim), welcomed the participants.
In the first keynote speech, Lutz Lienenkämper (German Federal Bank) explained the role of the German Federal Bank in financial education in Germany. He also discussed the importance of financial education for consumers in Germany. He emphasized that financial education and new ways of communicating knowledge are important in enabling people to better understand and contextualize monetary policy, also regarding the digital euro as a common European payment method.
In the second keynote speech, Prof. Alberto G. Rossi, Ph.D. (Georgetown University, USA) discussed the progress and challenges of robo-advisors. His research examines how robo-advisors can be used to help private households make better financial decisions. Automation is particularly useful when tasks are complex but repetitive and clearly rule-based. Financial education remains important when people need to understand risks, make long-term plans, and make difficult trade-offs. Hybrid approaches that combine knowledge transfer with targeted automation are most effective.
The third keynote speech by Prof. Panu Kalmi, Ph.D. (University of Vaasa, Finland) focused on the role of digital technologies in financial education. He emphasized that digital financial education is important for navigating the online world and avoiding fraud. He also discussed the use of games. These should not be used in isolation, but combined with clear learning objectives, guidance, reflection, and feedback so that what has been learned can also be applied in everyday life.
Javier Guibert-Suarez from the European Commission presented the EU-strategy for financial education. As surveys show that financial literacy is generally low in the EU, the EU wants to raise awareness and support member states. Plans include more exchange of best practices, stronger communication, monitoring of impact, and financial support for projects. The next step is to push ahead the implementation, including financial education ambassadors in all member states and clear thematic priorities.
Moderated by MIFE directors Prof. Dr. Carmela Aprea and Prof. Dr. Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Dr. Renke Deckarm (Regional Office of the European Commission), Prof. Panu Kalmi, Ph.D. (University of Vaasa, Finland), Prof. Dr. Dirk Loerwald (IÖB) and Vanessa Müden (Federal Ministry of Finance) discussed the topic “The EU Financial Literacy Strategy: Implications for Germany.” The European Commission's strategy paper, published in September, was addressed and its significance for the financial education strategy in Germany discussed. Germany could build on the EU-strategy and the experiences and best practices of other member states. The further development of the financial education strategy requires a scientifically sound base, supported by appropriate measurement tools, as well as cooperation with relevant stakeholders in order to develop evidence-based offers.
Subsequently, for the fifth consecutive year, the Bundesbank Early Career Research Prize on Financial Literacy was awarded by Dr. Patricia Staab (German Federal Bank). This year's awards went to Katharina Holzheu (ifo Center for Education Economics) for her research paper entitled “Bank-Advisor Certification and Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Finance Products” – which she co-authored with Dr. Tobias Wekhof (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) – and to the research work of Dr. Giang Nghiem (Leibniz University Hannover) entitled “Anchoring Households' Inflation Expectations when Inflation is High,” which he wrote together with Prof. Dr. Lena Dräger (Leibniz University Hannover) and Ami Dalloul (University of Duisburg-Essen).
On the occasion of MIFE's fifth anniversary, Prof. Dr. Cornelia Ruhe (University of Mannheim) and Claudia von Schuttenbach (ZEW) praised the achievements and successes that MIFE and its members have accomplished in the five years since its founding.
Prof. Dr. Carmela Aprea and Prof. Dr. Tabea Bucher-Koenen presented the developments of the MIFE, which has not only grown significantly in terms of personnel, but has also been able to contribute scientifically to various issues in financial education research: A total of 16 third-party funded projects were successfully acquired, accompanied by a large number of publications and presentations in Europe and the USA. Key formats have been established with the MIFE Research Days, the MIFE conferences, and workshops for young researchers. In addition, various joint projects and collaborations with partners from practice and politics have been developed.
At the end of the conference, all participants gathered at a reception to bring the conference to a close and to celebrate the 5th anniversary of MIFE. A slideshow with pictures from recent years provided a vivid review of the development of MIFE. There was also the opportunity to share experiences and impressions from the past five years of MIFE in a digital guest book and to share good wishes.
As in previous years, this year's MIFE Annual Conference was followed by the MIFE Early Career Workshop, where fourteen young researchers presented and discussed their research contributions.