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General and Professional Education
2/2014 pp. 54-61

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Abstract

One consequence of the current economic crisis raised by politicians, economists and educators is the issue of individual economic resourcefulness of people, manifested inter alia in saving. The results of previous studies suggest that the propensity to save is related to the level of economic knowledge. The referenced study is to analyze the forms of formal and informal economic education and savings behavior of young people from three European countries: Poland, Ukraine and Denmark. Those countries have different current situation as well as socio-economic history. Also, the level of society financial status varies, which may significantly affect the analyzed saving behavior. The respondents group consists of 120 young people who enter the labor market and take the first independent financial decisions. The conducted analysis shows that there are significant differences between Poles, Ukrainians and Danes in the aspect of educational influences remembered from childhood. With regard to the saving behavior, the majority of respondents declare saving money, the frequency of these behaviors is similar in the groups of Ukrainians and Danes, and slightly higher among respondents from Poland. Moreover, the most regular saving habits characterizing respondents from Denmark, while answers of Poles and Ukrainians are similar. The results suggest that economic education, both formal and informal, plays a virtual role in shaping young people’s behavior, but individual’s economic statement sets the boundaries of saving behavior.

Key words

economic knowledge, economic socialization, savings, Danes, Poles, Ukrainians

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