Andrea Regoli

Evolution and decomposition of income inequality in Italy, 1991-2004

The aggregate measures of inequality do not display any significant trend in the concentration of equivalent income among the Italian households in the early 2000s. Yet some sizeable shifts in the income distribution seem to suggest that the relative positions of groups of households have changed on the income scale. Through a decomposition analysis of Gini index by income source we find that in the more recent years the income from self-employment is the main disequalizing factor. The decomposition by social groups provides the evidence that it is the group of self-employed and managers who have gained more ground on the income scale.

THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL DRIVERS OF FINANCIAL LITERACY OF ITALIAN STUDENTS

The globally integrated nature of modern economies has increased the complexity of the socioeconomic context, particularly with reference to economic and financial issues. Individuals are increasingly required to make financial decisions, such as saving for retirement, expenditure on education and health, or buying a home, with the consequence that financial literacy is becoming an increasingly important and frequently investigated determinant of human capital formation and development. Given the importance of financial knowledge in modern society, the aim of this paper is to assess the determinants of financial literacy among Italian students using data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey. A structural equation approach is adopted in order to explore not only the direct effect of family socio-economic background on the students’ financial competences, but also its indirect effect, when student’s motivations and attitudes are considered as mediator factors. The findings are intended to provide useful insights for policy makers in order to develop specific initiatives to improve the level of financial knowledge among the young people.