11 National Financial Literacy Research Grants Awarded Under Financial Empowerment Innovation Fund

As part of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Empowerment Innovation Fund’s mission to award research grants to develop, test, and evaluate new ways to assist individuals and families in better understanding and managing their personal financial affairs and gain greater access to affordable financial products and services, Treasury has announced 11 research project awards focusing on many areas, including:

• Promoting more informed decision making in higher education
• Fostering greater innovation in payments and savings
• Bringing dynamic financial education to more classrooms

The above categories were selected based on new research demonstrating that savings rates for short term needs and long term goals like retirement are particularly low among low- and moderate-income families. We’re also in a period in which financial literacy scores among college students are at staggeringly low rates, resulting in very high debt loads carried by college graduates. Moreover, given the barriers to access of sound and low-cost financial products, many consumers too often turn to higher cost options, which creates a spiraling cycle of rising debt and lack of financial capability.

The U.S. Treasury Department received accolades in April when it announced a request for proposals to spark innovative ideas relating to new financial products and services. The response was overwhelming, with proposals submitted from banks, credit unions, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, national research firms, and a broad range of other entities focused on financial literacy innovation.

Following the competitive process, 11 research projects were selected to receive a combined total of $6.2 million of funds. The funded categories and projects include the following:

I. Financial Capability

Center for Financial Security – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Evaluation of an Experiential Elementary School Classroom-Based Financial Education Curriculum
The project will conduct a large-scale randomized controlled trial evaluation to examine the My Classroom Economy financial education curriculum that provides 4th- and 5th-grade students with hands-on learning experience in making spending and saving decisions in a simulated economy. It will involve a study of students in upwards of 100 elementary school classrooms across the nation. The research will examine changes in the students’ knowledge as well as attitudes and behavior around financial matters. It will also assess the effects of variations in the intensity of the curriculum, approaches for teacher training, and parents’ perceptions of the curriculum.

Center for Social Development – Washington University
myRA at Tax Time
This research project will examine strategies to enable tax filers to open and fund myRA accounts and other retirement savings accounts at tax time via Intuit’s online tax preparation service. The project will also test the effects of behaviorally informed messages that encourage tax filers to open and fund accounts with tax refunds.

MindBlown Labs
Develop and Evaluate an Innovative Financial Capability Framework for High School Students
This research project will develop, test and evaluate a strategy to teach financial capability to high school students. This strategy includes: a hands-on financial capability curriculum; access to the mobile game Thrive ‘n’ Shine; teacher training; and student access to savings accounts. The curriculum will satisfy state financial education class requirements for high school seniors. The evaluation of this strategy employs a randomized controlled trial study design. The Economics Center: Education Division is developing the curriculum and teacher training components. The Cincinnati Ohio Police Federal Credit Union is providing the students with access to savings accounts.
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II. Higher Education

Brookings Institution
Research on College Decisions and Whether Information about Projected Return on Investment would Influence Prospective Students’ Choices
This research project will explore how students and families from across the academic, socioeconomic, and geographic spectrums make choices about attending college. It will focus on whether information about the return on the investment of higher education, such as projected labor market outcomes, salaries, and the job success of graduates, affect students’ decisions on where to attend school. The research will involve students who at