From father to son

The past months have once again exacerbated the difficulties and vulnerabilities present in Italian society: a fundamental fragility that has repercussions above all among those people who cannot count on a parachute (whatever it is) in front of to an adversity or a negative work or relational situation.

Absolute poverty - as years and years of statistical investigations have now demonstrated - is a structured and worryingly increasing phenomenon in our country: only 15 years ago it concerned just 3% of the population, rising to 9%, 4% certified by Istat last autumn. An increase due to the serious global crises experienced since 2008, from the collapse of Lehman Brothers to the sovereign debt crisis, up to the Covid pandemic, to which are now added the effects of the conflict in Ukraine which are having a heavy impact on growth, inflation and commercial exchanges. The figure of 5 million 571 thousand people in a state of absolute poverty (there were 1.8 million just five years ago) refers to the year 2021, and the new survey that Istat will soon publish on the 2022 data is awaited with fear because it could certify a further increase in the phenomenon.

Among the many, there is one element that, in the long term, should be of considerable concern and that is the so-called "intergenerational transmission of poverty", which in Italy is more intense than in most countries of European Union. In practice, it is the fact that in our country poverty is a condition that is inherited: those who are born poor tend to remain so. Today, almost a third of adults between the ages of 25 and 49 at risk of poverty come from families in critical financial conditions. A problem of social justice that goes beyond mere economic needs and that questions us about how the future of our society is being built.

Moreover, there are really no major adjustments underway: as is known, some of the public spending items aimed at children and young people are lower in Italy than those in European countries. Public spending on education in relation to GDP shows our country's lower commitment compared to the major economies of the EU27 (4.1% of GDP in Italy in 2021 compared to 5.2 in France, 4.6 in Spain and 4.5 in Germany) and in general compared to the average of the EU27 countries (4.8%). Furthermore, Italy spends a very small share of its GDP on social benefits provided to families and minors, equal to 1.2% compared to 2.5% in France and 3.7% in Germany.

Like that relating to the birth rate, with constantly decreasing rates and a devastating impact on future public finances, the phenomenon of educational poverty and absolute poverty of children and young people is as well known on a theoretical level as it is poorly understood. opposed on a practical level. Not that there is a lack of initiatives and experiences, but too little is still being done on a large scale. It is the structural problem of an Italy that is struggling to find a broad political consensus on the steps to take to at least mitigate the negative effects that the country will face in the coming decades.


Stefano Caredda
NP August / September 2023