Having been a banker, I know very well how much more efficient the process can be when decisionmakers are presented with a clear assessment of the projected returns and a balanced analysis of risk. Another related feature of market-based investment decisions is the importance of built-in measures of accountability. Hard data on results are important in establishing the credibility of projects.
It is a matter of equity, it is a need for stability, a help for competition. However, the surveys conducted worldwide to measure population financial literacy are discouraging; this is also true for Italy. In Italy a quarter of the population ignores basic financial notions, 50% is not familiar with diversification, about 30% cannot tell the difference between stocks and bonds.