The Distribution of Personal Income in Post-War Italy: Source Description, Data Quality, and the Time Pattern of Income Inequality

The paper describes the sample surveys on the personal distribution of incomes conducted in post-war Italy: the first survey carried out by Istituto Doxa in 1947-48; the sample survey of household income and wealth conducted by the Bank of Italy since the late 1960s; the expenditure survey, and the European Community Household Panel conducted by the Italian Central Statistical Office, which gather income data since 1980 and 1993, respectively. The quality of the information is assessed by collecting the available evidence on differential response rates and mis-reporting, and by comparing grossed-up survey results with aggregate figures from the labour force survey and the national accounts. The evidence from income sample surveys is tentatively used to identify the main episodes in the post-war evolution of income inequality.