个人理财外文翻译文献翻译Word格式文档下载.doc

个人理财外文翻译文献翻译Word格式文档下载.doc

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Introduction

Inrecentyears,theneedforfinancialeducationhasgainedtheattentionofawiderangeofentitiesincludingbankingcompanies,governmentagencies,grass‐rootsconsumerandcommunityinterestgroups,universities,schools,andotherorganizations.Numerousfactorshaveledtoacomplex,specializedfinancialservicesmarketplacethatrequiresconsumerstobeactivelyengagediftheyaretomanagetheirfinanceseffectively.Theforcesoftechnologyandmarketinnovation,drivenbyincreasedcompetition,haveresultedinasophisticatedindustryinwhichconsumersareofferedabroadspectrumofservicesbyawidearrayofproviders.Otherimportantdemographicandmarkettrendscontributingtoconcernsincludeincreaseddiversityofthepopulation,resultinginhouseholdsthatmayfacelanguage,cultural,orotherbarrierstoestablishingabankingrelationship;

expandedaccesstocreditforyoungerpopulations;

andincreasedemployeeresponsibilityfordirectingtheirowninvestmentsinemployer‐sponsoredretirementandpensionplans.

Theprevailingconcernisthatconsumerslackaworkingknowledgeoffinancialconceptsanddonothavethetoolstheyneedtomakedecisionsmostadvantageoustotheireconomicwellbeing.Financialdecisionsmadebyconsumersaffectanindividual’sorfamily’scurrentfinancialwellbeingandabilitytosaveforlong‐termgoalssuchasbuyingahome,seekinghighereducation,orfinancingretirement.Inaddition,theconsumerdecisionsalsoplayanimportantroleintheoveralleconomichealthofthenation,aswasexperiencedthroughtherecenteconomiccrisis.

Mostrecenteconomicissuessuchascreditcarddebt,homeforeclosures,reducedsavings,decliningvaluesofinvestments,thecollapseofthesubprimelendingmarket,andescalatingnumbersofpersonalbankruptcyhavefocusedthenation’sattentionontheimportanceoffinancialeducation.

Technologicaladvanceshavetransformednearlyeveryaspectofthemarketing,delivery,andprocessingoffinancialproductsandservice.Theforcesoftechnologyandmarketinnovation,drivenbyincreasedcompetition,haveresultedinasophisticatedindustryinwhichawidearrayofprovidersoffersconsumersabroadspectrumoffinancialproductsandservices.Thesedevelopmentshavegivenconsumersmoreoptionsandgreaterflexibilityincreatingfinancialarrangementsthatbestsuittheirneeds.However,acomplexandspecializedfinancialservicesmarketplacerequiresconsumerstobeinformedandactivelyengagediftheyaretomanagetheirfinanceseffectively.

Whiletherearemanycausestotheeconomicproblemsfacingthecountry,itisundeniablethatalackoffinancialeducationisacontributingfactor.FartoomanyAmericansenteredintohomeandotherloanagreementsthattheydidnotunderstandandultimatelycouldnotafford.Morebroadly,thelackofbasicskillssuchashowtocreateandmaintainabudget,understandcredit,orsaveforthefuturearepreventingmillionsofAmericansfromtakingadvantageofourvibranteconomicsystem.Financialeducationisnotanissueuniquetoanyonepopulation.Itaffectseveryone—menandwomen,youngandold,acrossallracialandsocioeconomiclines（U.S.DepartmentoftheTreasury,OfficeofFinancialEducation,2008）.

Underthesecircumstances,thereisarenewedattentiontopersonalfinanceeducation.Thissubjectmatteriscurrentlygainingattentionfromvariousquartersofsociety,suchasacademia,government,corporationsandnonprofitorganizations.Thereisanincreasingrecognitionoftheimportanceofthisareawithinseveralacademicquarters,suchaseconomicsandfinance,thatweretraditionallynotinvolvedinthissubjectmatter.Oneofthechallenges,withincreasedinterestfromdiverseprograms,isthelossoffocusonthefamilyandmoreofaconcentrationonindividualdecisionmaking.Financialeducationprogramsarenowbeingreferredtobyavarietyofnames,themostfrequentlyusednamebeing“financialliteracy”;

however,thetermfinancialliteracymeansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople.Thereisnonationalstandardthatdescribestheexpectationsofacourselabeled“financialliteracy”regardingthecorecontent,corecompetencies,assessmentoftheimpact,andprofessionalpreparationoftheteacher.

Thispaperbrieflyreviewsthehistoryofpersonalfinanceandthenlooksatthecurrentstatusofthepersonalfinancialdisciplineandeducationbeforeidentifyingchallengesandopportunitiesforthefuture.Inthefinalsection,stepsnecessarytostrengthenthefutureofthisdisciplinearealsopresented.

AnInterdisciplinaryApproach

Personalfinancehasitsrootsineconomics,financeandmanagementandincorporatesgeneralprinciplesofdecisionmakingandthemanagementoffinancialresourcesoftheindividualandfamily.Itinvolvesapplicationofprinciplesfromavarietyofdisciplinessuchaseconomics,sociology,psychology,adultlearning,andcounselingtothestudyofwaysthatindividuals,families,andhouseholdsacquire,develop,andallocatemonetaryresourcestomeettheircurrentandfuturefinancialneeds.Inthedynamicsystemofpersonalfinance,decisionmakersarecentral.Theyinfluenceandareinfluencedbyvariousfactorsbothinexternalandinternalenvironments.Thisincludesfinancialmarketsandinstitutions;

governmentagencies;

economic,demographic,andsocialtrends;

andpersonalandfamilyfactors.Personalfinanceencompassestoolssuchasfinancialstatements,checkingandsavingsaccounts,debtinstruments,mortgagesandinvestmentvehicles.Italsoincludestechniquesrelatedtocashflowmanagement;

riskassessmentandmanagement;

andplanningoftaxes,retirement,andestates（Schuchardtetal.2007）.

FinancialEducationintheCurrentEconomicEnvironment

Currentlyagreatdealofattentionisbeingdrawntothisareafrompublic,private,profitandnonprofitentities.Asconcernsaboutconsumers’financialcapabilityhaveincreased,sotoohavethenumberandvarietyoffinancialeducationprogramsandprogramproviders.However,someprogramsoffercomprehensiveinformationonavarietyoftopicsforabroadaudience,includingsavings,credit,riskmanagement,investments,retirementplanningandsimilartopics.Othersarefocusedonasingletopicsuchascreditmanagement,retirementplanning,andinvesting;

andtheyaretailoredtoaspecificgroup,suchasyouth,women,orminorities（BraunsteinandWelch,2002）.Manyareprovidingfinancialeducationtostudents,employees,customers,thegeneralpublicandmore;

andmostoftheseeducationaleffortsarebeingpresentedunderthenameof“financialliteracy.”

However,multiplenamesarebeingusedtoidentifyteachingandresearchworkthatisbeingdoneinpersonalfinance.SomeofthenamesthathavebeenusedforalongtimeincludeConsumerEconomics,ConsumerAffairs,FamilyandConsumerSciences,FamilyEconomics,FamilyEconomicsandResourceManagement,FamilyFinance,FamilyFinancialManagement,HouseholdEconomics,andPersonalFinance.MorerecentnamesincludeHouseholdFinance,HouseholdBehavioralFinanceandFinancialLiteracy.

Sincethe1990s,theuseofthetermfinancialliteracyhasgainedmomentum;

however,popularizationofthetermhascreatedconfusion.Awebsearchonfinancialliteracyreturnsnearlytwomillionresults.Therearefinancialliteracyprograms,tests,statistics,andtraining.Mostaregeneral,butsometargetaudiencessuchasteensorpre‐retirees.Mostoftheseprogramshavedifferentgoalsanddifferentoutcomeexpectations.Thereisnocommonagreementonthecorecontent,overallandspecificobjectives,thequalificationsofthedeliverersofthesecourses,andfortheassessmentoftheoutcomes（HiraandSchuchardt,2008）.

Mostdisciplinessuchasmath,economics,history,sociology,andpsychologyareusuallyidentifiedbyonenameonly.Therearespecialtiesorconcentrationsforeachofthesedisciplines,butonlyonename.Toreducetheconfusion,theremustbeonenameforfinancialeducation;

andmoreimportantly,theremustbeacommonunderstandingofwhatcanbeexpectedfromsuchcourses.Beforethiscanbeaccomplished,somebasicquestionsmustbeanswered:

whatistheoverallobjective,whatisthecorecontent,whatcompetenciesandskillsmustthelearnergain,whatpreparationorqualificationsmusttheteachersoffinancialeducationhave,andwhatstandardsmustbeusedtoassesstheoutcomesofsuchprograms?

OverallGoalforFinancialEducation

Theoverallgoalforfinancialeducationistoensurethateveryoneisequippedwithappropriateinformation,knowledge,andskillstomakegoodfinancialdecisions.Thechallengetoeducatorsistodeterminewhatspecificskillspeopleneedinordertounderstandthelong‐termcostsandbenefitsoftheirfinancialdecisions（Hira,1995）.Financiallyeducatedconsumersareanimportantfirstlineofdefenseinwell‐functioningmarkets.Atthesametime,itisimportanttorecognizethatfinancialeducationisnotapanaceaandthatthereremainsaneedforeffectiveregulationthatisresponsivetomarketevolutionstoensurethatconsumersareprotectedagainstabusiveandfraudulentpracticesbyunscrupulousplayers.

FutureOpportunitiesandChallenges

Inthepast,professionalsinthefamilyeconomicsandmanagementfieldofpersonalfinancemadeuseoftheinterdisciplinaryapproachtostudyfinancialbehavior.Today,professionalsfromthosedisciplines（economics,sociology,psychology,andmanyothers）arestudyingfinancialbehavior,expandingopportunitiesandpotentialforastrongerandricherdiscipline.Opportunitiesfortransdisciplinaryworkofferagreatpromiseforthefuture.Thedisciplinemustm