CHAPTER 12: Mapping Financial Futures and Developing Social Capital: Decision-Making About Career, Specialization, and Interest Rates

Economic literacy is an important aspect of education for the American populace. Unfortunately, K-12 schools fare poorly in their efforts to teach children and youth about related tenets (Bernanke, 2006). Even though policymakers argue that financial literacy is important, national economic policies and practices represent determinants of the general public’s financial possibilities. Pursuing financial literacy, in and of itself, represents an insufficient strategy for improving society because the economic decisions made by key policymakers affect the financial decision-making contexts for all. Professionals in the discipline of economics see a need for economic literacy, in essence, a strong grasp within the field and in the public of domestic and international economic systems and their interrelationships (The Federal Research Bank of Minneapolis, 2011).