Thanks to the unprecedented measures taken by OECD governments, household disposable income (=after taxes to cut it short) fell less than GDP. & saw significant income increases thanks to big cash transfers. In & the fall was limited. More important in . #COVID19

What can explain the somewhat worse performance by Italy in cushioning the #COVID19 impact on household disposable income? Several factors:
1) the Italian welfare system has never been very good at targeting those most in need

2) with a large share of black/grey economy, it is not easy to compensate falls in undeclared incomes (a universal transfer would work but social acceptance is limited)

3) the job retention scheme in Italy ("cassa integrazione") is among the least generous in OECD countries in terms of replacement rate for workers.