One of the main stylized facts in household finance is limited participation in the stock market. Factors such as a lack of awareness of financial assets, poor numeracy, and financial illiteracy have been found to explain part of this puzzle. Yet none have fully resolved the anomalies. In this paper, three Misum researchers focus on those with a strong foundation and understanding of finance, and examine whether a business education from a leading business school in Sweden increases students’ stock market participation.

The authors find that, for students enrolled in the school, there is a significant increase in stock ownership during and after their studies compared to before entering the school, with the effect being more pronounced for women than for men. However, the positive effect is only observable among motivated students, i.e., those interested in accounting or finance subjects. This finding suggests that motivation remains important in stock market participation even for the most competent young adults who are already highly financially literate.

The paper, “Business school education, motivation, and young adults' stock market participation”, was published in the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy in March 2022. You can read the paper here. The authors are Misum researchers affiliated to the research platform Accounting Frameworks.

Authors

Ting Dong

Misum Research Affiliate, Assistant Professor at the Dept. of Accounting at Stockholm School of Economics

Florian Eugster

Misum Research Affiliate, Associate Professor of Auditing at University of St. Gallen

Henrik Nilsson

Misum Research Affiliate & Professor at the Dept. of Accounting at Stockholm School of Economics