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The Struggle of Being Poor and Claimant: Evidence on the Non-Take-Up of Social Policies in Italy

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  • Stefano Boscolo
  • Giovanni Gallo

Abstract

Social policies aim to alleviate poverty and income inequality, providing cash benefits and services to households facing economic difficulties. Nonetheless, it is well known that a relevant portion of eligible households do not claim such policies. Through an original methodology based on ISEE (Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente) administrative records, this paper offers the first empirical evidence on the non-take-up of social policies in Italy. We show that roughly 1.1 million of poor households did not file the ISEE declaration in 2018, a necessary step to claim most means-tested cash benefits and services. Based on multinomial logit regressions, results show that younger and larger households are more inclined to claim social policies. In contrast, households headed by a female or migrant tend to report severe levels of non-take-up, as do those living in the islands.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefano Boscolo & Giovanni Gallo, 2021. "The Struggle of Being Poor and Claimant: Evidence on the Non-Take-Up of Social Policies in Italy," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0174, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    • Handle: RePEc:mod:cappmo:0174
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    non-take-up; social policies; poverty; administrative records; welfare system;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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