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  3. Taking on debt is one of the most important economic decisions a person can

Taking on debt is one of the most important economic decisions a person can

游客2024-09-25  29
问题     Taking on debt is one of the most important economic decisions a person can make. Borrowing to invest in education can yield a large return. However, debt is a risky endeavour, and can carry a high cost if it is not promptly repaid. Compound interest can amplify even small periods of delinquency, leading to lower incomes, scarred credit ratings, even bankruptcy. Yet those who take on the most debt are the young, people who need to make large investments in education and housing, but who generally lack any experience with financial matters. Fortunately, new research shows that courses in finance at school can help solve this predicament(困局，穷境), reducing the harmful repercussions(反响)from taking on too much debt later in life.
    The authors study the impact of a large scale expansion of finance-related courses in US high schools. In 1999, mandatory teaching of economics and financial literacy was minimal. Illinois was the only state which had a compulsory course on financial literacy, and only 10 states ensured that their students covered basic economics. However, over the subsequent decade the majority of states introduced compulsory courses in these areas, including extending the sequence of mathematics classes each student must take to graduate. To measure the impact of financial education, the authors tracked each group of students which were forced to take these subjects and compared their subsequent interactions with debt using the New York Federal Reserve’s Consumer Credit Panel.
    The authors found that increased education about financial concepts broadly lowered the rates of bankruptcy among former students. It also led to a delay in the purchase of their first house(a risky investment at the best of times). Perhaps unsurprisingly, they also found that the effects of education varied according to which subjects were taught. Increasing education in mathematics and finance improved debt outcomes later in life. Students were less likely to be declared bankrupt and more likely to repay their debt on time, although these effects faded with age. Curiously, the introduction of an economics course led to higher debt burdens, with increased rates of delinquency later in life. The authors speculate that this may be because learning about economics provides students with a false sense of confidence(a trait not uncommon amongst professional economists): demystifying(阐明，启发)the debt market enough to encourage participation, but not providing enough detail to warn of the potential dangers. This makes sense as introductory economics largely avoids topics such as compound interest and repayment plans, which are critical to understanding how debt works.
    The benefits of an education in economics aside, the study ultimately highlights the importance of understanding the basics of personal finance—a respect of life that everybody must engage with. As this research confirms, those who understand interest earn it: those who don’t, pay it. [br] The rapid expansion of finance-related courses may indicate______.
选项 A、the profound influence of financial affairs
B、the highlighted necessity of financial education
C、students’ increasing confidence about finance
D、high schools’ deep concern about students’ life
答案 B
解析 推断题。根据题干关键词定位至第二段。根据该段首句可知，金融相关课程在美国的高中扩展很快，而该句是顺应上段末句中提出的高中金融课程可减少学生今后的负债压力，本文的最后一段首句也再次强调了了解个人金融事务基础的重要性，由此可以推知，金融课程迅速开展就是因为人们认识到了金融教育的重要性，故[B]为答案。
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