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The article reviews the literature on financial literacy, financial education, and consumer financial outcomes, considering how financial literacy is measured and whether financial education improves financial literacy or personal financial outcomes. It discusses the role of competitive markets in educating consumers and alternative policies to improve financial outcomes, comparing the evidence to the efficacy and cost of financial education. The authors aim to place financial literacy and financial education in the broader context of problems and solutions, including the changing economic climate and increasingly complicated financial products. They frame financial literacy within standard models of consumer financial decision making and consider how to define and measure financial literacy, surveying the literature on financial capabilities in the US and other countries.