Measuring the financial literacy of the adult population: the experience of Banca d’Italia

At the beginning of 2017, Banca d’Italia conducted a survey to investigate financial literacy and inclusion among Italian adults. The survey is part of an OECD project to create an internationally comparable dataset on this important topic. The questionnaire was developed by the OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE). The Italian sample consists of about 2,500 persons interviewed using two different methods: 40 per cent of them had a face-to-face interview while the others used a tablet to record their responses. Our findings show the existence of a substantial financial literacy gap between Italy and the other G20 countries, which is most evident among less educated respondents, among the elderly and among women. Compared with other countries, Italians are more aware of their limits or at least more cautious when assessing their level of financial knowledge. We also discuss some critical aspects of the OECD’s methodology that should be addressed in order to improve the measurement of financial literacy and to increase cross-country comparability.