Anindita Trinura Novitasari, Heri Praktikto, Bambang Sugeng, Nasikh
This study aims to examine the effect of economic literacy on rational consumption behavior among economics education students. Rational consumption refers to the ability of individuals to make consumption decisions based on logical considerations, economic understanding, and awareness of needs rather than impulsive desires. In the context of university students, consumption behavior is often influenced not only by their level of economic literacy but also by their attitudes toward consumption and lifestyle factors shaped by the social environment. These influences may encourage a more consumptive lifestyle that potentially weakens rational decision-making in consumption. This study involved 158 respondents selected from a population of 262 undergraduate students in the economic education program from the 2021 and 2022 cohorts using a quantitative research approach and random sampling to ensure representativeness. The participants were selected through random sampling to ensure representativeness. Data were analyzed using classical assumption tests, multiple linear regression analysis, as well as simultaneous (F-test) and partial (t-test) hypothesis testing to determine the relationships among variables. The findings indicate that a higher level of economic literacy significantly contributes to the development of rational consumption behavior among students. Students with a stronger economic understanding tend to demonstrate more rational attitudes toward consumption, which subsequently supports more responsible and well-considered consumption decisions. Conversely, the results also reveal that a stronger consumptive lifestyle negatively affects rational consumption behavior. When students adopt lifestyles that emphasize excessive or status-oriented consumption, their tendency to make rational consumption decisions decreases. Overall, this study highlights the important roles of economic literacy and consumption attitudes in shaping responsible consumer behavior among university students and emphasizes the potential negative impact of consumptive lifestyles. The implications of these findings for economic education and student financial awareness are discussed in the following section. Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Department of Economy and Business, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia
