Does job security matter for consumption? An analysis on Italian microdata

This paper investigates if labour income uncertainty, particularly as related to the development and diffusion of fixed and short-term work contracts, may have played a role in determining the recent decline of the marginal propensity to consume of Italian households. We analyse this issue in the framework of a standard precautionary saving model, proxing labour income uncertainty with subjective job security measures. Due to the lack of a unique dataset containing all the relevant information, we adopt a two-step two-sample procedure. Estimation results, based on cross-section data for the year 2000, point to a potentially substantial effect of job security perception on household’s nondurables consumption. Its actual capability to prompt aggregate consumption adjustments is however likely to be very limited.