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The Multidimensional Financial Literacy Scale: Proposal of a new tool for measuring financial literacy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rip2023oa18192
Submitted
luglio 19, 2024
Published
2024-07-22

Abstract

Financial literacy is the set of knowledge and skills related to managing personal financial resources. Financial knowledge and financial competences enable people to make financial decisions that have a positive impact on personal wellbeing. To date, there are multiple tools for measuring an individualʼs level of financial literacy due to the existence of various conceptualizations of the construct itself.
Starting from the definition of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which considers financial literacy as the set of awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors, this contribution intends to describe the development of a new financial literacy measurement tool. The Multidimensional Financial Literacy Scale (MFLS) is a new tool for measuring financial literacy thought as a multidimensional construct. The items are the operationalization of the theoretical constructs included in the definition of the OECD. The scale has a modular structure, in which the items are ordered by gradient of difficulty, from basic to advanced level. This contribution, in addition to presenting a new financial literacy measurement tool, also offers a theoretical reflection on the scientific reasons that led to the development of the new scale. However, future studies are necessary to test Multidimensional Financial Literacy Scale’s psychometric properties.

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