Who are young Italians, what do they do, and how do they think? Are they entirely dependent on their parents, or are they gradually trying to build their own independence — including financial independence? From this perspective, are they more enterprising than their peers in the United States and China? Some answers come from the OECD, which has recently published the new edition of its report on students' financial literacy. The report is the result of interviews with approximately 48,000 fifteen-year-olds from fifteen different countries.

Young Italians are comfortable with money

Young Italians are used to handling money. Eighty-three per cent of fifteen-year-olds receive cash gifts from friends or relatives, and 35 per cent receive pocket money. Many others already carry out occasional and informal jobs, for example as gardeners or babysitters (21 per cent of the sample), or are employed part time or during the summer period (a further 16 per cent). More than eight in ten teenagers discuss spending and saving with their parents at least once a month. On average, those who talk with their parents about these matters turn out to be more knowledgeable about basic financial concepts than those who never broach the subject.

Savings go under the mattress

Just under half of young Italians set aside some savings every week or every month (43 per cent of respondents). Twenty-one per cent of fifteen-year-olds save only when they have money to put aside, and a further 27 per cent only when they want to buy something. Very few (5 per cent) save nothing at all. When faced with something that is too expensive for the time being (an item of clothing, sports equipment or similar), 59 per cent of fifteen-year-olds said they would be willing to put savings aside for a while in order to be able to buy it.

Yet our fifteen-year-olds, who are accustomed to having a smartphone constantly in hand, suddenly turn "analogue" when it comes to money. Only 35 per cent of young Italians hold a current account and 37 per cent hold a prepaid card. These figures are nonetheless consistent with the access to financial products and services of the population as a whole, the OECD points out, given that 61 per cent of young people between 15 and 24 years of age have a current account, as do 92 per cent of adults between 25 and 64.

The ABCs of economics and finance

But how do our young people fare when it comes to basic concepts in economics and finance? Some 19.8 per cent of Italian fifteen-year-olds fail to reach the baseline level of financial competence, a proportion slightly lower than the 22 per cent recorded across the OECD economies that took part in the survey. We are talking about questions in which they are asked to recognise an invoice or to navigate other situations that might arise in everyday life. Top performers — that is, those who reach level 5 — account for only 6 per cent (the OECD average is 12 per cent). In this case, we are referring to fifteen-year-olds who demonstrate the ability to identify a fraudulent email in a financial context.

With an average score of 483 points, Italy sits mid-table among the economies analysed in the report, level with the United States and Poland. Chinese students come out far ahead (one in three reaches level 5), but Belgian and Canadian students also perform very well.

	Average score	Ranking position	Students below level 2	Students at level 5
OECD-10 average	489		22.3	11.8
China (BSJG)	566	1-1	9.4	33.4
Belgium (Flanders)	541	2-3	12.0	24.0
Canadian provinces	533	2-3	12.7	21.8
Russia	512	4-5	10.9	10.5
Netherlands	509	4-6	19.2	17.5
Australia	504	5-6	19.7	15.4
United States	487	7-9	21.6	10.2
Poland	485	7-9	20.1	8.0
Italy	483	7-9	19.8	6.5
Spain	469	10-10	24.7	5.6
Lithuania	449	11-12	31.5	3.7
Slovak Republic	445	11-12	34.7	6.3
Chile	432	13-13	38.1	3.1
Peru	403	14-14	48.2	1.2
Brazil	393	15-15	53.3	2.6

Average results in the OECD financial literacy assessments. Source: Pisa 2015 - Financial Literacy

Financial education in Italy

Financial education is a particularly sensitive issue in our country — and it concerns everyone, not just teenagers. Cases such as those of Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza have demonstrated this clearly: thousands upon thousands of small savers found themselves holding worthless shares, purchased without fully understanding how they worked or the risks involved.

According to the research "Financial Education in the World" published at the end of 2015 by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, only 37 per cent of Italians achieve a pass mark when tested on basic economic and financial concepts. This is a world apart from outstanding cases such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway, where 71 per cent of adults demonstrate financial competence.

The progress of the financial education bill

Against this backdrop, Members of Parliament Federico Ginato and Giorgio Zanin have promoted a bill on financial education. The legislation provides for a dedicated committee to draw up a national strategy for financial education, which will serve to coordinate all the parties involved (including the education system), publish teaching materials and organise events and conferences, for both young people and adults. The committee is made up of ten members: in addition to representatives from the ministries, Consob, the Bank of Italy and consumer associations, it will also include a member from the Forum per la finanza sostenibile. The measure entered Italian legislation in February, in the form of an amendment to the decreto salva-risparmio. Its budget is for now limited to the barely symbolic sum of one million euros.