According to the growing debate on the beyond-GDP approach, a strand of literature
explores how the traditional system on national account (SNA), that is the pillar for
the GDP measurement, could be extended to account for some of the main themes
related to well-being and sustainability. In this presentation we extend the
macroeconometric model for Italy developed by Istat (MeMo-It) introducing an
inequality measure in the consumption function. Empirical analysis shows that a
positive income shock that increases aggregate consumption in the current year might
be completely off-set by the negative effect of the increase in inequality that becomes
effective in the next year. In this framework, the impact of the Italian “reddito di
cittadinanza”, a policy measure aiming at reducing poverty, has been evaluated.
According to the results obtained we support the idea that a step forward on wellbeing and sustainability could be realized starting from a structural macroeconometric
approach.
20 Maggio 2022
Fabio Bacchini
Istat