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34 J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare 119 (2007)
From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability among Youth

handle is hein.journals/jrlsasw34 and id is 555 raw text is: From Financial Literacy to Financial Capability Among Youth ELIZABETH JOHNSON Washington University George Warren Brown School of Social Work MARGARET S. SHERRADEN University of Missouri-St. Louis & Washington University Youth in the United States are facing an increasingly complex and perilous financial world. Economically disadvantaged youth, in par- ticular, lack financial knowledge and access to mainstream financial institutions. Despite growing interest in youth financial literacy, we have not seen comparable efforts to improve access to financial policies and services, especially among disadvantaged youth. In- stead of aiming for financial literacy, an approach widely promoted in the United States, we suggest aiming for financial capability, a concept grounded in the writing of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. Building on research in the United Kingdom, the paper proposes that financial capability results when individuals develop financial knowledge and skills, but also gain access to financial policies, instruments, and services. The paper addresses theoreti- cal and pedagogical approaches to increasing financial capability, followed by examples of programs in the United States. In the con- clusion, we discuss implications for policy, practice, and research. Keywords: financial education; financial capability;financial lit- eracy; children; youth; savings Although seldom a mainstream topic in either sociology or social welfare, the financial functioning of individuals and Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, September 2007, Volume XXXIV, Number 3