Paper Short Abstract:

Based on interviews, analysis of policy and educational materials, and participant observation of financial literacy practices, this paper examines the central role of various kinds of texts, narratives, and reading and writing practices in the financial literacy assemblage in Slovakia.

Paper Abstract:

Since the onset of its postsocialist transformation in 1989, Slovakia has evolved from a country with a limited and heavily regulated consumer finance to an increasingly financialized economy and society. Slovak households are the most indebted in Central and Eastern Europe, with mortgage loans being particularly central, and they also rely on partially privatized pension arrangements. More recently, discourses and practices of financial literacy and education have become increasingly prominent, framed by an apparent consensus between experts, policy makers and the financial industry that the financial literacy of Slovakia’s citizens is low, for which various national surveys and international comparative assessments are cited as evidence. The National Standard of Financial Literacy was adopted in 2014, laying foundations for the implementation of financial literacy as a mandatory component of primary and secondary education. State institutions such as the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Initiatives, various NGOs, and private financial actors are also involved in this field. Based on interviews, analysis of policy and educational materials, and participant observation in financial literacy classes and events in 2022–2023, this paper argues that financial literacy in Slovakia is a heterogeneous assemblage – simultaneously as a school subject, an ideological discourse, and a blend of practical advice and marketing that seeks to shape its subjects as rational, calculative, responsible and generally well-adjusted subjects of financialized capitalism. Particular attention is paid to the central role of various kinds of texts, narratives, and reading and writing practices in the financial literacy assemblage.