Isee, the equivalent economic situation indicator, has a fundamental role in the establishment of an integrated system of social services and interventions. The use of Isee has become more widespread over the last two years after an initial period of caution due to legislative vagueness. At present its application involves some 12 million citizens. It is thus legitimate to inquire on the effects they have produced in terms of the efficacy of selective procedures. The adequacy of equality objectives is no doubt linked to the modalities of the construction of the indicator, the system of applicative regulations, especially the capacity to construct an effective control structure.only subscribers can see the full article

This paper proposes a reform of family allowance to combat poverty, coherent with the vision of human development welfare and the tradition of selective universalism of the Onofri Commission. The main contents of the reform are: a) Unification of the main tax deductions for minors and spending in the form of family allowances in a new and more effective spending measure to support families which resolves the problem of the incapacity of tax deductions. b) The full-scale introduction of the Minimum Income Mechanism whose experimentation had been initiated (but only to be interrupted). c) The reform of current selectivity criteria, especially the Ise tool. This reform aims to achieve better redistribution objectives than the current ones, concentrating available resources on families with minors and medium to low Ise. It should be maintained a certain level of selectivity in the interventions on the basis of family not individual criteria. The reform will also use any eventual additional resources to cover all urgent needs of our welfare systems rather than universalistic monetary redistribution.only subscribers can see the full article

The reform of article V of the Constitution and the process which will lead to the definition of the Lep represent fundamental factors to analyse prospects in the Italian welfare model. Indeed the setting up of the social policy information system acquires a strategic function, whereas the Isee system represents a first important step. This premise introduces the experience initiated by the Rome City Council, which is particularly significant in the field of selective policies applied by social services. In fact, through an integration of the Isee calculation mechanisms, consented by the norm, it was possible to take account of the specific characteristics of the elderly and set specific policy objectives.only subscribers can see the full article

Given shortcomings in present low income support measures, possible reforms are presented. The underlying consideration is to implement a joint reform of Irpef and family benefits by introducing tax cuts and benefits for minors regardless of income, and additional measures such as income transfer (negative taxation) in the case of fiscal incapacity; more progressivity of Irpef to obtain the necessary resources from high income earners to finance allowances and tax deductions. The redistributive effects of this reform are highlighted in favour of low and medium income families and the possibility to support young people by funding incentives to enable their entry to the labour market.only subscribers can see the full article

The paper examines the role of Irap in the Italian taxation system. In particular it analyses the role of this regional tax in the 1997-98 fiscal reform in the light of the objectives to simplify and streamline the system, increase neutrality, reinforce the financial autonomy of the regions and reform their funding. Successive developments are also looked into, especially the greater autonomy of the regions. The matter of the announced abolishment of Irap is discussed considering the problems faced by the regions in terms of financial autonomy and coverage.only subscribers can see the full article

After having outlined the reasons to support public action for self-sufficiency policies, this paper deals with some of the main issues surrounding the debate on the activation of a public, universal self-sufficiency fund in Italy. Firstly, a concise presentation of the reasons to prefer the setting up of a specific fund to the mere reinvigoration of existent policies is given. Secondly, the importance of intergenerational equity and financial sustainability in the implementation of such a fund are high-lighted. Thirdly, some elements of the debate on the opportunity to activate a single national fund and/or numerous regional funds are illustrated. Lastly, some aspects of the possible strategies for the activation of the fund and its financing are briefly discussed.only subscribers can see the full article

The main objective of this paper is to provide arguments needed to support the thesis that the most serious obstacle to the construction of a competitive and fair economy in Italy is represented by the production structure, characterised by the prevalence of small or micro companies and by a manufacturing specialisation centred mostly on traditional production. This structure acts as a hindrance to the utilisation of human capital encouraging growth strategies which are not focused on the introduction of innovations, thus proving to be fragile. The removal of this obstacle requires different policy interventions other than tax cuts, reduction in social spending and the insistence on the flexibilisation of the labour market.only subscribers can see the full article