Author(s) :

Elijah D. Lee.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Despite decades of global efforts, poverty continues to be a persistent issue, affecting underserved communities and entire nations alike. Poverty’s structure is self-reinforcing, meaning that the cycle of generational poverty continues even with government measures such as direct financial support. However, poverty is also shaped by wages, employment opportunities, housing, healthcare costs, discrimination, family wealth, credit access, school quality, and broader economic policy. This persistence suggests that government intervention alone is not a sufficient solution. In light of this, financial literacy education has been proposed as a complementary approach. Research across 113 countries and over 115,000 individuals has shown that financial literacy education is associated with reductions in poverty. Because of the multifaceted nature of poverty, financial literacy education is a potentially useful component of poverty-reduction efforts rather than a stand-alone solution. This narrative review synthesizes peerreviewed empirical studies from multiple countries and demographic contexts, while incorporating factors like economics, developmental psychology, and financial sociology to examine the relationship between financial literacy and poverty outcomes, and ultimately focuses on the timing and targeting of educational interventions. This paper makes two main arguments: First, financial literacy is consistently associated with reduced poverty outcomes across income levels, cultural contexts, and demographic groups. Second, these effects may be strongest when financial literacy education is delivered during adolescence, before financial habits, attitudes, and behaviors are fully formed.