The Italian Social Protection System: The Poverty of Welfare

May 1, 1998

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Massimo V. Rostagno, and Francesca Utili. The Italian Social Protection System: The Poverty of Welfare, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 1998) accessed December 26, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Italy’s system of social protection has come under criticism for being fragmented and excessively skewed toward pensioners and “insiders.” After setting up a consolidated presentation of the social security accounts, this paper provides an empirical assessment of the effectiveness of the welfare system, relying on a survey of households’ incomes and wealth. It concludes that, owing to ill-designed targeting mechanisms, less than a quarter of total spending on the welfare instruments under review accrues to families whose own resources fall short of the poverty line. The paper then proposes a new means-testing formula.

Subject: Aging, Expenditure, Income, Labor, National accounts, Pension spending, Pensions, Personal income, Population and demographics

Keywords: Aging, Benchmark system, Early retirement, Guarantee scheme, Income, Labor market, Means-testing formula, Northern Europe, Pension regime, Pension spending, Pension system, Pensions, Personal income, Poverty line, Seniority pension, Social insurance, Social protection, Social security, Unemployment compensation, Vertical and horizontal efficiency, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

50
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 1998/074
Stock No:

WPIEA0741998
ISBN:

9781451849561
ISSN:

1018-5941

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