WLS Codebooks

Note: Codebooks contain frequency data from the private data release. For some variables, these differ from the frequencies in the public release. Variables that differ between the public and private versions include "(not available on public release)" as part of the variable description, or a note indicating the difference between the public and private versions.

Mail: Financial Matters

Graduate Mail: Financial Matters Module

OVERVIEW

The Financial Matters Module is new to the 2011 mail survey. It relies on 12
statements about finance - constructed in terms of money management, banking,
and investing - to gauge the participant's opinions and their level of
confidence in those opinions. For each statement, the participant is asked to
indicate whether they believe it to be more generally true or false by circling
a scaled percentage ranging between 50 and 100 representing the likelihood or
confidence they associate with its perceived truth or falsehood. If, for
example, the participant considered the statement "mutual funds do not pay a
guaranteed rate of return" to be generally true, but still had some
reservations, they might circle 80 to signify a belief that it is 80% likely to
be true. If the participant thinks a statement is surely true or false, they
are instructed to circle 100, indicating 100% confidence in its likelihood of
being such. If, on the other hand, the participant is completely unsure and has
"no idea" whether a statement is true or false, they are instructed to make
their best possible guess and circle 50, signifying a bare minimum 50%
confidence in their opinion of its truth or falsehood. Whether a statement is,
in actuality, true or false is not important here; the section is simply
intended as a gauge of participants' opinions on financial matters.   


BRIEF VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS

    Variable ranges reference dataset/codebook order and are not necessarily 
    alphabetical.
    _____________________________________________________________________

    JFIN01RE-JFIN12RE:		  Perceived Truth or Falsehood of Statements
    				  About Financial Matters

jfin01re: Mutual funds do not pay a guaranteed rate of return - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_1, yfin1_a

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 337 564 901
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 93 82 175
-3 REFUSED 6 10 16
-1 DON'T KNOW 12 28 40
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 195 196 391
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 59 73 132
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 54 72 126
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 40 66 106
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 38 52 90
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 139 229 368
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 114 238 352
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 61 78 139
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 81 115 196
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 129 188 317
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 202 208 410
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 905 700 1605
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin02re: You should invest in either mutual funds or a large number of different stocks instead of just a few stocks - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_2, y_fin1_b

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 330 546 876
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 100 80 180
-3 REFUSED 6 10 16
-1 DON'T KNOW 9 22 31
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 71 87 158
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 26 29 55
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 29 48 77
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 36 46 82
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 40 32 72
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 95 154 249
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 106 205 311
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 107 116 223
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 188 182 370
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 306 383 689
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 324 332 656
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 692 627 1319
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin03re: Using money in a bank savings account to pay off credit card debt is usually a bad idea - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_3, y_fin1_c

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 315 516 831
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 96 79 175
-3 REFUSED 4 10 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 5 12 17
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 708 633 1341
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 236 232 468
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 187 215 402
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 115 118 233
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 51 71 122
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 71 141 212
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 59 121 180
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 49 65 114
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 72 102 174
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 133 151 284
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 126 120 246
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 238 313 551
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin04re: Financially, investing in the stock market is no better than buying lottery tickets - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_4, y_fin1_d

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 319 527 846
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 78 75 153
-3 REFUSED 5 10 15
-1 DON'T KNOW 5 12 17
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 861 674 1535
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 287 272 559
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 214 262 476
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 162 218 380
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 88 118 206
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 115 241 356
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 90 150 240
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 45 84 129
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 28 57 85
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 52 65 117
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 23 45 68
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 93 89 182
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participant's who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin05re: When an investor spreads money between 20 stocks, rather than 2, the risk of losing a lot of money decreases - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_5, y_fin1_e

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 326 570 896
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 77 64 141
-3 REFUSED 5 10 15
-1 DON'T KNOW 4 15 19
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 64 76 140
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 32 38 70
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 34 70 104
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 33 65 98
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 27 41 68
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 76 161 237
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 108 242 350
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 114 133 247
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 202 232 434
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 338 343 681
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 364 344 708
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 661 495 1156
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin06re: Taxes do not affect how you should invest your money - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_6, y_fin1_f

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 334 580 914
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 78 64 142
-3 REFUSED 5 10 15
-1 DON'T KNOW 5 19 24
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 565 499 1064
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 214 209 423
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 261 215 476
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 180 185 365
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 81 108 189
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 110 236 346
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 97 171 268
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 60 69 129
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 110 129 239
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 111 130 241
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 81 105 186
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 173 170 343
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin07re: If you start out with $1,000 and earn an average return of 10% per year for 30 years, after compounding, the initial $1,000 will have grown to more than $6,000 - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin1_7, y_fin1_g

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 368 686 1054
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 77 60 137
-3 REFUSED 5 10 15
-1 DON'T KNOW 5 24 29
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 147 179 326
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 23 36 59
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 21 46 67
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 32 40 72
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 22 25 47
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 65 152 217
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 98 217 315
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 60 92 152
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 82 122 204
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 190 225 415
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 235 235 470
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 1035 750 1785
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin08re: Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin2_8, y_fin2_h

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 364 646 1010
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 63 57 120
-3 REFUSED 5 9 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 7 28 35
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 699 528 1227
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 304 269 573
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 269 306 575
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 204 192 396
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 145 165 310
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 197 388 585
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 74 149 223
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 27 44 71
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 33 29 62
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 30 42 72
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 22 22 44
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 22 25 47
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin09re: Even older retired people should hold some stocks - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin2_9, y_fin2_i

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 352 594 946
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 71 62 133
-3 REFUSED 5 9 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 4 16 20
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 91 117 208
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 33 38 71
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 34 58 92
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 50 55 105
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 42 44 86
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 151 247 398
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 227 353 580
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 196 206 402
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 203 190 393
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 316 302 618
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 236 232 468
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 454 376 830
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin10re: An older person with $100,000 to invest should hold riskier financial investments than a younger person with $100,000 to invest - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin2_10, y_fin2_j

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 351 594 945
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 63 64 127
-3 REFUSED 5 9 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 3 17 20
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 1258 1231 2489
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 264 298 562
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 154 171 325
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 99 99 198
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 39 60 99
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 99 200 299
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 27 42 69
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 13 17 30
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 17 19 36
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 21 24 45
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 17 14 31
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 35 40 75
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin11re: It is important to take a look at your investments periodically to see if you need to make changes - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin2_11, y_fin2_k

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 346 570 916
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 76 77 153
-3 REFUSED 5 9 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 3 17 20
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 10 11 21
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 1 2 3
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 1 4 5
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 0 5 5
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 2 2 4
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 14 30 44
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 41 72 113
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 26 42 68
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 86 80 166
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 188 178 366
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 287 286 573
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 1379 1514 2893
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident."

jfin12re: It is best to avoid owning stocks of foreign companies - true or false?

Data source: Graduate Participant or Proxy      Collected in: 2011      Mode: Mail
Source variables: y_fin2_12, y_fin2_l

Frequencies
Value Label Male Female Total
. System missing - NR 2513 2413 4926
-29 LEFT BLANK ON SAQ 352 613 965
-27 NOT ASKED OF PROXY 13 14 27
-4 NOT ASCERTAINED 68 64 132
-3 REFUSED 5 9 14
-1 DON'T KNOW 3 20 23
0 SURELY FALSE - 100% CONFIDENT 435 297 732
10 90% CONFIDENT FALSE 175 135 310
20 80% CONFIDENT FALSE 271 226 497
30 70% CONFIDENT FALSE 219 191 410
40 60% CONFIDENT FALSE 159 160 319
49 GUESS FALSE - 50% CONFIDENT 247 379 626
51 GUESS TRUE - 50% CONFIDENT 170 299 469
60 60% CONFIDENT TRUE 89 96 185
70 70% CONFIDENT TRUE 73 97 170
80 80% CONFIDENT TRUE 62 105 167
90 90% CONFIDENT TRUE 45 56 101
100 SURELY TRUE - 100% CONFIDENT 92 152 244
Note: The survey question this variable was based on was prefaced by the following set of instructions: "Next we would like to ask you a series of statements about financial matters. We would like to know whether, in your opinion, the statement is generally "True" or generally "False" and how strongly you believe this to be the case.
Note: There were some participants who circled 50% for both the true and false categories. These responses were recorded as "Guess False - 50% Confident.

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