The redistributive effects of inflation: a microsimulation analysis for Italy

We analyse the impact of the marked and unexpected increase in inflation recorded since the second half of 2021 on Italian households’ purchasing power. Exploiting microsimulation tools, we are able to quantify the extent to which government measures supporting households’ incomes and lessening energy price hikes, mitigated the distributional impact of the inflationary shock. According to our estimates, in 2022 the measures attenuated inflation on average by slightly less than 2 percentage points and reduced the impact of the shock on households’ purchasing power by almost €32 billion (from more than €80 billion to less than €50 billion). This implies that in 2022 government intervention reduced the expected drop in purchasing power from an average €3,200 per household to about €2,000, with a relatively more marked effect for low-income households. Evaluated on the basis of both their cost for the public finances and their impact on inequality, the strengthening of the electricity and gas social bonuses, targeted at less well-off households, was the most effective intervention while untargeted price reductions (such as the decrease in VAT rates on gas tariffs or lower excise duties on fuel) were the least effective. The one-off allowances (€200 and €150 bonuses) and the other measures affecting take-home pay (reduction of social security contributions paid by employees and the advance partial payment of pension revaluations) were only moderately effective since these measures, being conditional on individual income, also benefit wealthy households.