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How much do young professionals know about the Ecuadorian capital market?

Abstract:

The main research objective is to know the level of stock market literacy as a subsection of financial literacy of young Ecuadorian professionals to understand the Ecuadorian capital market development on the demand side. This study specifically aims to analyze the stock market literacy scores by the sociodemographic variables (educational level, gender, marital status, area, and age). Four hundred twenty-one master's degree graduates and students, young professionals, were surveyed and evaluated with a tailor-made scale of forty-six items under two dimensions of stock market literacy (SML): financial knowledge (FK) and financial attitude (FA). The statistical analysis reveals master's graduates and people with housing in urban areas have higher literacy levels, and the stock market literacy on average in Ecuador is (0.57). The study's results filling the research gap in the field, confirm the lack of knowledge about the stock market in Ecuador, and point out an issue to address in public policies for economic development.