This paper addresses the question of the institutional flexibility of three major European welfare states. Using Data from the second and fifth wave of the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), we measure first how effectively the German, British and Italian welfare state have responded changes in...

Radical employment, household structure and stability transformations have created new tensions on the welfare state front, whose social programs were constructed in an era with a wholly different risk profile. Rowntree's poverty cycle clearly exemplifies the postwar picture of an exceptional...

Italy`s system of social protection has come under criticism for being fragmented and excessively skewed toward pensioners and quot;insiders.quot; After setting up a consolidated presentation of the social security accounts, this paper provides an empirical assessment of the effectiveness of the...

Barely having had the time to digest the economic and social aftershocks of the Great Recession, European welfare states are confronted with the even more disruptive coronavirus pandemic as probably, threatening the life of the more vulnerable, while incurring job losses for many as the...

Italy, which is sometimes considered a laggard in terms of social and economic reforms, can boast a pension system that is, by and large, functioning sufficiently well in terms of ensuring an adequate purchasing power to retirees and a financially sustainable outlook in the long term, even when...

The present paper discusses the elements and workings of the so called "Reddito di Cittadinanza" (translatable as "Citizenship Income"), the scheme for minimum income protection that was recently adopted by the Italian government and that undoubtedly represents a turning point for the country's...