La Multidimensional Financial Literacy Scale: proposta di un nuovo strumento per la misurazione della financial literacy

Financial literacy is the set of knowledge and skills related to managingpersonal financial resources. Financial knowledge and financial competencesenable people to make financial decisions that have a positive impact onpersonal wellbeing. To date, there are multiple tools for measuring anindividualʼs level of financial literacy due to the existence of variousconceptualizations of the construct itself. Starting from the definition of theOrganization for Economic Co-operationand Development(OECD), which considers financial literacy as the set ofawareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors, this contribution intendsto describe the development of a new financial literacy measurement tool. TheMultidimensional Financial Literacy Scale(MFLS) is a new tool for measuringfinancial literacy thought as a multidimensional construct. The items are theoperationalization of the theoretical constructs included in the definition of theOECD. The scale has a modular structure, in which the items are ordered bygradient of difficulty, from basic to advanced level. This contribution, inaddition to presenting a new financial literacy measurement tool, also offers atheoretical reflection on the scientific reasons that led to the development of thenew scale. However, future studies are necessary to test MultidimensionalFinancial Literacy Scale’s psychometric properties.