Document Type
Thesis
First Faculty Advisor
A. Can Inci
Second Faculty Advisor
Laura Kohl
Keywords
financial literacy; behavioral finance; banking; history of money
Publisher
Bryant University
Rights Management
CC - BY - NC - ND
Abstract
Since the dawn of recordable civilization, monetary systems have shaped the developments of history. From the Akkadian shekel to the Roman denarius, the Spanish piece of eight, the British pound sterling, and the United States dollar. The wellbeing of the civilization is dependent on the (mis)management of the currency system. While currencies touch the lives of nearly every human, the history, fundamentals, and causational relationships of currencies and their derivatives are not universally known. This paper examines the degree of financial and currency system awareness within the surveyed population and how it varies within the sub-categories of the surveyed population. Available models of investor and market decisions, actions, and results in the modern financial system are explored. The survey results support the hypothesis that basic financial literacy is more widespread than currency financial literacy. The secondary hypothesis that financial memory is greater concentrated within relatively more recent financial events is not supported. The primary hypothesis that survey participants treat an investment good the same way they treat a consumer good when pricing is the only consideration is supported.
