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The Age of Discontent: Italian Households at the Beginning of the Decade

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • Tito Boeri

    ()

    (Bocconi University, CEPR)

  • Andrea Brandolini

    (Bank of Italy, Research Department)

Abstract

In the Italian public debate growing attention has been recently paid to “household impoverishment”. Subjective indicators of economic condition show that this concern reflects a common sentiment of the Italian population. On the other hand, estimates based on the Bank of Italy’s Survey of Household Income and Wealth reveal a surprising stability of income distribution in the period 1993-2002, after the sharp widening amid the 1991-92 recession. A number of possible reasons that can account for this apparent inconsistency are investigated: data deficiencies; disappointed expectations; significant distributive changes across socio-economic groups which have cancelled out at the aggregate level; higher income mobility not captured by static inequality indices.

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File URL: ftp://ftp.gde.unibocconi.it/gde_articles/2004/GDE_V63_N3-4_P449-487.pdf
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Article provided by GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University in its journal Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia.

Volume (Year): 63 (2004)
Issue (Month): 3-4 (December)
Pages: 449-487

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Handle: RePEc:gde:journl:gde_v63_n3-4_p449-487
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Keywords: household confidence; income inequality; poverty; income mobility;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
  • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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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. Tito Boeri & J. Ignacio Conde-Ruiz & Vincenzo Galasso, "undated". "Protecting Against Labour Market Risk: Employment Protection or Unemployment Benefits?," Working Papers 2003-17, FEDEA.
  3. Lambert, Peter J & Aronson, J Richard, 1993. "Inequality Decomposition Analysis and the Gini Coefficient Revisited," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(420), pages 1221-1227, September.
  4. Atkinson, Tony & Cantillon, Bea & Marlier, Eric & Nolan, Brian, 2002. "Social Indicators: The EU and Social Inclusion," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199253494.
  5. Verbist, Gerlinde, 2004. "Redistributive effect and progressivity of taxes: an international comparison across the EU using EUROMOD," EUROMOD Working Papers EM5/04, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
  6. Andrea Brandolini & Piero Cipollone & Paolo Sestito, 2001. "Earnings Dispersion, Low Pay and Household Poverty in Italy, 1977-1998," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 427, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  7. cipollone piero & Anita Guelfi, 2003. "tax credit policy and firms' behaviour: the case of subsidy to open-end labour contract in italy," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 471, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  8. Mills, Jeffrey A & Zandvakili, Sourushe, 1997. "Statistical Inference via Bootstrapping for Measures of Inequality," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 133-150, March-Apr.
  9. Paolo Del Giovane & Roberto Sabbatini, 2004. "L�introduzione dell�euro e la divergenza tra infl azione rilevata e percepita," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 532, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  10. Massimo V. Rostagno & Francesca Utili, 1998. "The Italian Social Protection System; The Poverty of Welfare," IMF Working Papers 98/74, International Monetary Fund.
  11. Giammusso Federico & Tangorra Raffaele, 2002. "Indicators on Poverty and Social Exclusion: Moving Toward a Social Europe?," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 29-48.
  12. Andrea Brandolini & Luigi Cannari & Giovanni D’Alessio & Ivan Faiella, 2006. "Household Wealth Distribution in Italy in the 1990s," Chapters,in: International Perspectives on Household Wealth, chapter 7 Edward Elgar Publishing.
  13. Golinelli Roberto & Parigi Giuseppe, 2005. "Le famiglie italiane e l'introduzione dell'euro: storia di uno shock annunciato," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 201-226.
  14. Cowell, Frank A., 1989. "Sampling variance and decomposable inequality measures," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 27-41, September.
  15. Tito Boeri & Axel Boersch-Supan & Guido Tabellini, 2002. "Pension Reforms and the Opinions of European Citizens," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 396-401, May.
  16. Shorrocks, A F, 1978. "The Measurement of Mobility," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(5), pages 1013-1024, September.
  17. Jarvis, Sarah & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1998. "How Much Income Mobility Is There in Britain?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 108(447), pages 428-443, March.
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