Reaching wide through small screens: the impact of a Banca d'Italia financial education TV campaign

Alessio D'Ignazio, Ludovica Galotto (), Daniela Marconi () and Marco Panfili
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Ludovica Galotto: Bank of Italy
Daniela Marconi: Bank of Italy

No 990, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: Financial literacy is essential for personal and collective well-being yet remains low among adults worldwide, and traditional education programs often struggle to engage their audience. We explore a broader-reaching approach: delivering financial education through mass media. Using a randomized survey experiment with about 1,000 individuals, we evaluate the impact of a television campaign launched in 2023 by Banca d'Italia and the public broadcaster Rai, which covered various financial topics across multiple TV formats. Our findings show significant improvements in financial knowledge, particularly among women, individuals with lower financial literacy, and non-investors. The campaign also raised interest in financial topics and awareness of investment diversification. With approximately 7 million viewers in 2024, its potential impact is substantial. From a policy perspective, short-format financial education on television and social media constitutes a scalable, cost-effective complement to existing initiatives. While our findings are robust, they only capture short-term effects; further research is needed to assess long-term impact.

Keywords: financial literacy; financial education through television; survey experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 G53 I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-12
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_990_25

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