Benefits of improving financial literacy

In 2010, the Commonwealth Bank Foundation commissioned research to investigate people’s ability to make informed and responsible financial decisions. You can read detailed results of the survey.

The survey found that increasing financial literacy by a modest amount for those Australians who were least financially literate would, over time, have a significant impact on those individuals and the Australian economy. 

Increasing the financial literacy of the lowest quartile of the population to the level of the top of the lowest quartile is estimated to:

• increase Australia’s gross domestic product by $6.2 billion annually over the long term
• create 15,000 jobs
• lift the annual income of Australia’s financially least literate by 10%
• lead to improved decision making, greater productivity and more efficient use of capital

Potential indirect benefits to the economy include:

• a reduced need for welfare
• more economic opportunities
• increased national savings
• a greater number of well-informed consumers.

 

Download reports

• 2010: Improving financial literacy: benefits for all Australians (PDF 1.05MB) 
  

Previous Reports

• 2004: Key findings (PDF 318KB)
• 2004: Research report (PDF 604KB)