Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 15:8:612976.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.612976. eCollection 2020.

Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Smoking Behavior: Evidence From Japan

Somtip Watanapongvanich  1 , Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan  1 , Pongpat Putthinun  1 , Shunsuke Ono  1 , Yoshihiko Kadoya  1
Affiliations

Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Smoking Behavior: Evidence From Japan

Somtip Watanapongvanich et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

In this study, we examine the relationship between financial literacy, financial education, and smoking behavior among the Japanese population. We hypothesize that financially literate and financially educated people, who have the ability to make more rational decisions, are less likely to smoke. Using the Preference Parameters Study of Osaka University, conducted in 2010 (N = 3,706), the probit regression results show that both financial literacy (with an emphasis on knowledge of investments) and financial education (with an emphasis on savings behavior) have a significant negative impact on smoking behavior. In addition, gender, age, education, marital status, household income and assets, risky behaviors, a myopic view of the future, risk preference, and level of happiness also significantly predict the likelihood of a person being a current smoker. This study provides empirical evidence that enhancing the rational decision-making ability of individuals through financial literacy and financial education may curtail smoking behavior.

Keywords: Japan; financial education; financial literacy; healthcare decision; smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW) (2012) A basic direction for comprehensive implementation of national health promotion. Available online at: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/file/06-Seisakujouhou-10900000-Kenkoukyoku/000004... (accessed July 31, 2020).
    1. Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW) (2019). Outline of the Act on the Partial Revision of the Health Promotion Act, (No. 78 of 2018). Available online at: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/health/dl/201904ken... (accessed July 31, 2020).
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) 2015. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic: raising taxes on tobacco, World Health Organization. Available online at: https://www.who.int/tobacco/global_report/2015/en/ (accessed August 8, 2020).
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) 2017. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2017: Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies, World Health Organization. Available online at: https://www.who.int/tobacco/global_report/2017/en/ (accessed August 8, 2020).
    1. World Health Organization (WHO) 2019. WHO report on the global epidemic 2019: Offer help to quit tobacco use, World Health Organization. Available online at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-report-on-the-global-tobacco... (accessed August 8, 2020).

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources