This paper analyses the financial skills of Italian micro-entrepreneurs in comparison with those of 25 other countries and, above all, with the rest of the Italian population. The research, based on the Survey on the Financial Literacy of Italian Adults carried out in 2020 by the Bank of Italy, identifies the socio-demographic characteristics that best explain the differences in the financial literacy of micro-entrepreneurs and of other adults.
The analysis shows that the financial skills of Italian micro-entrepreneurs are low by international standards. Compared with the rest of the Italian population, micro-entrepreneurs are slightly more literate, owing in particular to their higher income and more frequent use of financial instruments. This is reflected in better financial decisions by micro-entrepreneurs, e.g. in managing their relationships with financial intermediaries or coping with unexpected expenses.
