The aim of this paper is to assess the determinants of financial literacy amongst Italian students and to evaluate the role of students' attitudes and motivations as mediators for the influence of family background. We focus on the process of financial knowledge development of 15-year-old Italian students by exploiting the large amount of OECDPISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) data. Through the specification of a structural equation model (SEM), our results illustrate that the effect of family background on financial literacy is only partially mediated by the latent constructs that measure the students' attitudes and motivations. This suggests that the direct impact of the family context on financial literacy attainment still holds once the mediating effect of students' attitudes and motivations is accounted for. In addition, focusing on the gender gap, our findings indicate that the acquisition process of the financial competences, according to the hypothesised model, does not show significant differences between boys and girls.

Family background and financial literacy of Italian students: the mediating role of attitudes and motivations

Sergio Longobardi;Margherita Maria Pagliuca;Andrea Regoli
2017-01-01

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to assess the determinants of financial literacy amongst Italian students and to evaluate the role of students' attitudes and motivations as mediators for the influence of family background. We focus on the process of financial knowledge development of 15-year-old Italian students by exploiting the large amount of OECDPISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) data. Through the specification of a structural equation model (SEM), our results illustrate that the effect of family background on financial literacy is only partially mediated by the latent constructs that measure the students' attitudes and motivations. This suggests that the direct impact of the family context on financial literacy attainment still holds once the mediating effect of students' attitudes and motivations is accounted for. In addition, focusing on the gender gap, our findings indicate that the acquisition process of the financial competences, according to the hypothesised model, does not show significant differences between boys and girls.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11367/63806
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