Asset accumulation and decumulation over the life cycle. The role of financial literacy

Margherita Borella and Mariacristina Rossi (both University of Turin) review the literature on the role of financial literacy in planning wealth patterns over the life cycle. They initially look at the first stage of the life cycle, when individuals are active in the labor market, and focus on the role of financial literacy in fostering wealth accumulation. Financial literacy also matters in portfolio composition efficiency. An understudied topic that they also explore in this paper is whether financial literacy can help individuals better plan asset depletion in the last part of their life cycle.