Understanding Financial Institutions – The Role of Reading Economic News in Germany and the UK

Abstract

This chapter argues that the news media play an important factor in educating the public about financial institutions. It presents some novel survey results, exploring the role of economic news use for the perceived understanding of financial institutions in Germany and the UK. Two web-based surveys were conducted: one in the UK in winter 2018 and one in Germany in summer 2019. Findings show that economic news use is positively related with a better perceived understanding of financial institutions in both countries, even after controlling for demographics and financial socialization. We find that the level of perceived understanding of financial institutions is positively related with education and income and negatively related with being female. The need for information significantly impacted the relationship between economic news use and understanding of financial institutions in the UK but not in Germany. Practical implications for economic and financial news journalists are discussed.