Educação financeira e decisões de endividamento, consumo, investimento e poupança: uma análise com discentes do ensino superior

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the behavior of students on Administration, Economics and Accounting courses at a public higher education institution in the process of making decisions regarding debt, consumption, investment and savings, based on Financial Decision Theory. For this, the methodology used is characterized as descriptive in relation to the objectives, surveying data collection procedures, and quantitative in relation to the approach to the problem, through structural equation modeling. As a data collection instrument, a questionnaire adapted to the studies by Flores (2012) and Moura (2022) was adopted, consisting of 42 questions that addressed demographic variables and five distinct blocks with questions about financial education, debt, consumption, investment and savings . The study sample comprised 223 respondents. The results demonstrated that the four hypotheses tested were confirmed, where financial education contributes to better decisions in relation to reducing debt and compulsive consumption, as well as increasing investment and saving intentions, allowing individuals to make decisions based on information , as evidenced in Financial Decision Theory. Therefore, it can be concluded that financial education has an influence on the balanced behavior of issues related to money, leading to an improvement in quality of life and financial health, benefiting society as a whole. This research contributes to encouraging academic discussion on the topic, promoting a better understanding of the factors that may be related to financial decisions.