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, by Istituto Doxa in 1947-48, the Bank of Italy since the late 1960s, and the Italian Central Statistical Office since 1980. 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.