Financial Literacy (Lusardi & Mitchell Big Three)
Information SystemsReliability: item-level test3 sample items
About this scale
A 3-item performance test of basic financial literacy: compound interest, inflation, and risk diversification. The most cited brief financial-literacy instrument.
Sample item(s)
“Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have? (compound interest)”
“Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After 1 year, would you be able to buy more than today, exactly the same, or less? (inflation)”
“Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund. (T/F — risk diversification)”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: item-level test. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Free for academic use.
Source & citation
Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014): The economic importance of financial literacy: Theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 5–44.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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