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Does Consumption Inequality Track Income Inequality in Italy?

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Abstract

This paper presents stylized facts on labor supply, income, consumption, wealth, and several measures of consumption and income inequality drawn from the 1980-2006 Survey of Household Income and Wealth (SHIW)conducted by the Bank of Italy. The SHIW provides information on consumption, income and wealth, and a sizable panel component that allows econometricians to estimate sophisticated income, consumption, and wealth processes and to analyze labor market and portfolio transitions. Given the population changes associated with the demographic transition and Italian policy reforms since the mid 1980s, the survey information provide a level playing field from which to analyze macroeconomic policy shifts and structural reforms based on microeconomic data. We find that over the sample period income inequality is higher and has grown faster than consumption inequality. The labor market reforms of the 1990s are the most plausible explanation for the rise in income inequality.

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Paper provided by Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy in its series CSEF Working Papers with number 229.

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Date of creation: 16 May 2009
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Publication status: published in Review of Economic Dynamics, January 2010, vol. 13, 133-153.
Handle: RePEc:sef:csefwp:229

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  1. Andrea Brandolini, 1999. "The Distribution of Personal Income in Post-War Italy: Source Description, Data Quality, and the Time Pattern of Income Inequality," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 58(2), pages 183-239, September.
  2. Costas Meghir & Luigi Pistaferri, 2001. "Income variance dynamics and heterogenity," IFS Working Papers W01/07, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
  3. Giuseppe Bertola, 2005. "Uncertainty and Consumer Durables Adjustment," Review of Economic Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 973-1007, October.
  4. Richard Blundell & Ian Preston, 1998. "Consumption Inequality And Income Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(2), pages 603-640, May.
  5. Jonathan A. Parker, 1999. "The Reaction of Household Consumption to Predictable Changes in Social Security Taxes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 959-973, September.
  6. Luigi Pistaferri, 1998. "Superior Information, Income Shocks and the Permanent Income Hypothesis," CSEF Working Papers 07, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
  7. Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri, 2004. "Intertemporal choice and consumption mobility," 2004 Meeting Papers 195, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  8. Martin Browning & Thomas F. Crossley, 2000. "The Life Cycle Model of Consumption and Saving," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 28, McMaster University.
  9. Erich Battistin & Raffaele Miniaci & Guglielmo Weber, 2003. "What Do We Learn from Recall Consumption Data?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(2).
  10. Luigi Pistaferri & Tullio Jappelli, 1998. "Using Subjective Income Expectations to Test for Excess Sensitivity of Consumption to Predicted Income Growth," CSEF Working Papers 12, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
  11. Angus Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1993. "Intertemporal Choice and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 4328, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  12. Nicholas S. Souleles, 1999. "The Response of Household Consumption to Income Tax Refunds," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 947-958, September.
  13. Richard B. Freeman & Lawrence F. Katz, 1995. "Differences and Changes in Wage Structures," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free95-1.
  14. Brunello, Giorgio & Comi, Simona & Lucifora, Claudio, 2000. "The Returns to Education in Italy: A New Look at the Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 130, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  15. Tullio Jappelli & Luigi Pistaferri, 2011. "Financial Integration and Consumption Smoothing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(553), pages 678-706, 06.
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  1. Jonathan Heathcote & Fabrizio Perri & Giovanni L. Violante, 2010. "Unequal We Stand: An Empirical Analysis of Economic Inequality in the United States: 1967-2006," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 13(1), pages 15-51, January.

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