Households' saving and debt in Italy

1997

Abstract: In most of the postwar period Italy featured an abnormally high saving rate in comparison to that of most other industrialized countries. But this is no longer true. Under any definition, in the last decade the Italian saving rate has fallen below the average of the developed economies. Why was the Italian saving ratio comparatively high and why has its decline been so dramatic? In this paper we consider various potential answers to these questions.

1994

1994

The Italian saving rate has exhibited large variability since World War 11, with a trend decline in the past two decades, following very high levels in the fifties and sixties. Since tax incentives and social security arrangements are potentially important determinants of private and national saving, it is natural to consider whether changes in the tax code and in the social security system have contributed to the changes in the Italian saving rate.

Research in Economics, 2001

We use Italian repeated cross-sectional data from 1984 to 1998 to highlight trends in Italian household saving. The use of repeated cross sections allows us to control for the presence of cohort effects, which are important determinants of the level of saving. The data are drawn from the Bank of Italy Survey of Income and Wealth. The reliability of the saving measure is assessed also using data from the ISTAT Survey of Household Budgets. The purpose of the paper is to provide a set of stylized facts about household saving in Italy. At a more general level, the paper also highlights the importance of distinguishing between discretionary saving and mandatory saving when analysing household behaviour and comparing saving across countries. © 2001 University of Venice J.E.L. Classification: D12, D91.

European Economic Review, 2007

We develop the approach of Gokhale et al. (1996), based on the life-cycle model of savings, to decompose the differences in the national saving rates between the UK, US and Italy. Our work suggests that the US saving rate is lower principally because Americans on average retire later. In contrast, the Italian saving rate is higher predominantly because Italians are credit constrained, particularly when young. We also found that demography and the different tax and benefit systems are able to explain little of the cross-sectional differences in saving rates. The study accounts for the possible importance of intergenerational private transfers in determining saving rates.

2002

Using the Bank of Italy's Survey of Household Income and Wealth, this paper analyses the determinants of Italian households' participation in the debt market and tries to disentangle demand and supply effects. Age seems to act essentially as a demand factor. ...

DISCUSSION PAPERS-NATIONAL INSTITUTE …, 2002

We develop the approach of Gokhale, Kotlikoff & Sabelhaus (1996), based on the lifecycle model of savings, to decompose the large differences in the personal sector saving rates between the UK, US and Italy. Our work suggests that the US saving rate is lower ...

Italian Sociological Review, 2023

Why are Italians at the bottom of international rankings on financial literacy? Why do they fail to make speculative financial choices and have a marked aptitude for precautionary saving? Using a Weberian perspective on household "budget management" [haushalt] and analysing the results of recent research (e.g. OECD, CONSOB and Bank of Italy), the authors argue that there are always "good reasons" and thus specific rationality that encourages people to save and reject financial speculation. This economic choice emanates from cognitive bias, financial socialisation, financial literacy, and environmental conditions. The hypothesis is that Italian households demonstrate a weaker attitude towards financial speculation and a better tendency to save because they devote more attention to consumption, which, unlike financial investments, increases and strengthens personal well-being and family relational ties. Finally, the authors affirm the social relevance of specific financial rationality, leading to a typical precautionary behaviour toward saving rather than investing. This particular attitude aims to reduce the perception of uncertainty, and this is just what is happening in the current crisis scenario.

Research in Economics, 1997

We replicate the econometric work done on the effects of social security on national saving but we refer to a different specification of the social security wealth variable. Indeed, we use the so called "accrued to date" definition instead of the "net" or "gross" definitions that were used in all the previous studies. Our evidence supports the finding that the social security system has substantially contributed to the decline of the aggregate Italian saving rate in the period 1954-1993.