Should we require our nation’s teenagers to pass a financial literacy quiz in order to get a license? Jean Chatzky proposed this question in her blog, and now Adam Levin has delved deeper into what this could mean for our country, and how we could begin to implement the requirement.

Weighing in on the issue are Nan J. Morrison, President & CEO of CEE, and Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar in Economics and Accountancy, The George Washington University School of Business, and CEE Board Member.

“It is a low-cost, low-barrier option for getting a student interested, and they have an incentive to do so,” Nan J. Morrison says about the proposal.

Lusardi proposes that potential questions should address car ownership and insurance.

Read the full story here. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

POSTED: March 7, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: CEE Board, CEO, Financial Literacy, personal finance, Quiz

Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust Distinguished Scholar in Economics and Accountancy at the George Washington University School of Business, and Director of the Financial Literacy Center, will be honored with the William E. Odom Visionary Leadership Award from the Jump$tart Coalition.

Lusardi is a CEE board member who has worked with us to promote economic education and financial literacy for all. She has participated on CEE panels including Financial Illiteracy: Educated Women Too? and Women and Financial Literacy: Evidence Across Countries. Lusardi provided guidance on the biennial Survey of the States and served on the Blue Ribbon panel for CEE’s soon-to-be-released National Financial Literacy Standards.

Congratulations to Dr. Lusardi for a well-deserved recognition. The William E. Odom Visionary Leadership Award, named for Bill Odom, the former chairman of Ford Motor Credit Corporation, recognizes individuals who have made substantial, groundbreaking contributions to the promotion of financial literacy among students across the United States.

POSTED: March 4, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: Awards, CEE Board, National Financial Literacy Standards, Survey of the States

EconomicsPennsylvania (EconPA), with continued collaboration from the local Centers for Economic Education, trained over 500 teachers in 2012, and will continue outreach efforts in 2013.

New partnerships are leading the way for increased outreach to the state’s students. EconPA and Bloomsburg University launched the inaugural Youth Entrepreneurial Experience Camp last year. Thirty-one students from across the state engaged in a 3-day intensive program to learn about business and entrepreneurial skills in a competition.  The camp was an all-expense paid venture for the students, and the top performers received a year of start-up capital and support; both winners have launched their ventures.

EconPA also partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland to host Youth Entrepreneurial Challenge Days, as well as hosting a Day of Learning with Lincoln Financial and Temple University’s Fox Business School for Title I Schools in Philadelphia.

Local students received attention as Pennsylvania was home to the first
place national team in the 2012 Capitol Hill Challenge, Lewisburg High
School, which dedicates much of their staff and resources to participating
in the various programs that EconPA offers (photo below).

A major success of EconPA stems from the network of Centers located at universities, school district offices, business corporate centers and local banks for program delivery—ensuring trainers are at ground level to train educators. EconPA continues to raise the stakes for economic and personal finance requirements by working with state legislatures and education specialists such as Michael MacDowell, Managing Director of the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation and CEE Board member, who was asked by PA Governor Corbett to serve on a task force on post-secondary education.

EconPA was featured in CEE’s Winter 2013 CEE Report; download the newsletter to learn more about their efforts with students and teachers.

POSTED: January 24, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: CEE Board, Councils & Centers, entrepreneurship, Federal Reserve, partners, Students

Jeffrey M. Lacker, CEE board member and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, is featured in today’s New York Times. He doesn’t hide his opinion that the Fed is “limited” in its power to stimulate the economy, and “that just throwing money at the economy is unlikely to solve the problems that are keeping a 55-year-old furniture worker from finding a good competitive job.”

Gary H. Stern, former president Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and also a current member of CEE’s board, is also quoted in the story.

“If you have a forceful and compelling rationale, I think that is constructive internally and externally,” Stern said. “I think the Fed obviously has been in my opinion dealt a difficult hand. To some extent the waters are uncharted. It would be in a way remarkable if you had unanimity under these circumstances and I think Jeff’s concerns about what the Fed can accomplish in this environment and what the risks on the inflation side may be, I think that those points need to be taken seriously.”

You can read the full article here.

POSTED: January 9, 2013 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: CEE Board, economics, Federal Reserve

Our global economy has become so complex that the gap between what people know about economics and personal finance, and what they need to know, is widening every day. Americans are increasingly responsible for their financial future, yet an alarming number lack even basic economic awareness.

In Karen Blumenthal’s article for The Wall Street Journal, Tackling Investor Ignorance, she dissects the latest report from the securities and Exchange Commission on personal finance for Americans. The conclusion? Not great.

From the article:

“Small investors, the SEC said, “have a weak grasp of elementary financial concepts and lack critical knowledge of ways to avoid investment fraud.

That’s a problem for individuals if they buy products they don’t understand, accumulate too much debt or take unintended risks with their retirement funds or other savings.”

So where does the Council for Economic Education fit in? How do we fix the problem?

“Still, people can’t be experts about every financial product or investment. So what exactly do they need to know to make good decisions?

Plenty of experts have been wrestling with this. The nonprofit Council for Economic Education is working on standards for students in fourth, eighth and 12th grades in six main subject areas: earning income, buying goods and services, saving, using credit, investing and protecting and insuring assets.”

Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, CEE Board Member and professor of economics and accountancy at George Washington University, and Bill Bosshardt, Director of the Center for Economic Education at Florida Atlantic University both weighed on the full article here.

POSTED: November 5, 2012 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: CEE Board, Councils & Centers, Financial Literacy, personal finance, Standards

PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and Knowledge@Wharton High School Co-host First Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility

PwC and Knowledge@Wharton High School (KWHS) are proud to co-host the first PwC and KWHS Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility, a three-day, intensive learning experience where educators can deepen their knowledge and teaching skills about financial literacy and business. Read more…

POSTED: October 23, 2012 | BY: Leslie Rasimas | TAGS: CEE Board, Financial Literacy, partners, personal finance, Survey of the States, teachers