The recovery is well and truly under way, but it seems I am not part of it. This is the most widespread perception amongst Italian households, which, in recent years, appear to have weathered some of the difficulties experienced since the start of the economic crisis 10 years ago. Not every family is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel they entered in 2008: some (a few) have seen their financial situation improve; some (the majority) believe their income has remained stable; and some (quite a few) have embarked on a financial journey that has taken a downward turn. Their forecasts for this year are divided between those who believe they have left the worst behind them and those who envisage uncertain prospects. It seems that Italian society is split in two as it leaves its darkest economic period behind.<\/p>\n
BankItalia\u2019s figures demonstrate that this slight improvement is not merely a matter of perception. In 2016, the average annual income of Italian households stood at 31,469 euros, representing a slight increase compared with the figures recorded in the previous two years (+3%). However, the figures are still far from reaching the \u20ac36,142 threshold recorded in the years prior to the economic crisis (2006). GDP figures and forecasts \u2013 not only from the Government but also from other national and international institutions \u2013 also support the overall improvement in the national economy, showing an increase in our production system.<\/p>\n
However, although the increase is slow compared with our European counterparts, it still shows a positive trend over time.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it will take time for the momentum of the new economy to be reflected in the resources available to households (wages). The crisis, as we all know, has eroded a large part of Italian households\u2019 economic resources, with the fall in consumption being its most significant consequence. More generally, the economic crisis has also fostered a sense of impoverishment, which has become a real and objective state of poverty for a section of the population. Furthermore, for some families it has taken the form of relative deprivation: the difficulties in maintaining the same standard of living they once enjoyed, which has mainly affected the middle class.<\/p>\n
This is the source of the sense of caution and uncertainty about the future felt by the Italian public: on the one hand, Italian families are resilient in the face of economic difficulties, which they have weathered using their own savings, thereby eroding their assets; on the other hand, they adopt a more wait-and-see approach to the future, despite the positive signals from institutional indicators. These are the main findings of the latest survey conducted by Community Media Research for La Stampa, on the economic circumstances of the Italian public and their future prospects.<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, compared with four years ago (2014), it is certainly fair to say that Italians\u2019 incomes have not declined: more than half of respondents (56.6%) state that their income has remained stable over the last three years, a higher percentage than that recorded in 2014, when the figure stood at 44.7%. One-fifth (19.1%) of respondents believe their financial situation is better than it was a few years ago (8.7% in 2014). Conversely, there has also been a fall in the number of people who have seen their income fall, from 46.6 per cent in 2014 to 24.3 per cent today. This is a significant drop, but it still affects a quarter of the population. As always, the average figure masks the differences that are actually significant at a regional level. Whilst in the North-East, over the last three years, 25.8 per cent of people have seen their household income improve, the figure for the South stands at 13.7 per cent. This figure once again highlights Italy\u2019s regional divide.<\/p>\n
These first signs of a slight improvement in the economic circumstances of Italian households are beginning to be reflected in the outlook for the future. Whilst 2015 saw a slight reversal of the trend compared with the previous year, perceptions have become more consistent over the course of the last three years. Almost a quarter of the Italian population (23.0 per cent) believe that the crisis is now over and that signs of recovery are evident. In 2015, only 8.0 per cent of respondents shared this view.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the outlook for the future has improved significantly, although this is limited to a still relatively small section of the population. However, there was a greater increase in the number of people expressing uncertainty than in the number of those who believe the economic difficulties will persist for longer: from 13.6 per cent in 2015 to 28.5 per cent in 2018, resulting in a larger group of people feeling uncertain than those who believe the country has already emerged from the crisis. Furthermore, in this case, regional divisions are quite evident. The northern part of the country (25.1 per cent) already feels that the crisis is coming to an end, whilst the central and southern parts (30.0 per cent) are still gripped by a strong sense of uncertainty.<\/p>\n
In this regard, it is important to consider which areas are set to experience economic growth in the near future. Italians believe that the economic recovery will mainly affect the area in which they live (37.2 per cent), Italy as a whole (42.0 per cent) and Europe to a greater extent (59.5 per cent), rather than their own financial situation and that of their families (27.3 per cent). Consequently, positive expectations for the future are more likely to relate to the external context and would only marginally affect the respondents themselves.<\/p>\n
It seems that the recovery is taking place outside their homes. This trend is clearly reflected in the index of confidence in the future: the \u2018optimists\u2019 \u2013 that is to say, those who express essentially positive views on all the areas considered \u2013 account for 15.0 per cent, a marked decline compared with previous surveys. Furthermore, the proportion of those adopting a \u2018wait-and-see approach\u2019 has risen (51.3 per cent), and their outlook appears to be more cautious; the \u2018concerned\u2019 (23.1 per cent, where negative assessments of the future outweigh the positive ones) and the \u2018pessimists\u2019 (10.6 per cent, whose views are entirely negative) remain stable.<\/p>\n
The economic situation of Italian households has improved slightly compared with a few years ago, but the scars of a long crisis have not yet fully healed. A large minority of Italian households feel that their available financial resources are continuing to deteriorate. The difficult period from which Italy is slowly recovering is leaving behind at least two distinct and deepening divisions: one is social, whilst the other is geographical. The new government\u2019s political agenda should effectively address these issues.<\/p>\n
Research methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n Community Media Research, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo on behalf of La Stampa, carried out a nationwide survey called Indagine LaST (Laboratory on Society and the Territory) from 9 January to 22 Januarynd<\/sup>, based on a sample of the entire Italian population aged 18 and over. The methodological aspects and the results were analysed by Questlab. A total of 1,482 people (out of 13,384 contacts) were surveyed. The data analysis was re-weighted according to gender, region, age groups, employment status and education. The margin of error is approximately \u00b12.5 per cent. The survey was conducted online via the main social media platforms, using a random sample reached via CAWI and CATI systems. To download the full survey, please visit www.agcom.it<\/a> and www.communitymediaresearch.it<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The recovery is in place but it seems I am not involved. This is the most widespread perception among Italian households, which, in the past few years, seem to have…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sondaggi-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12806,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252\/revisions\/12806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}