The Citizens' income () was a social

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

assistance program which was in effect in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

between April 2019 and January 2024. Although its name recalled one of a

universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

, it was actually a form of conditional and non-individual

guaranteed minimum income Guaranteed minimum income (GMI), also called minimum income (or mincome for short), is a social-welfare spending, welfare system that guarantees all citizens or families an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions ...

. The citizens' income had been proposed by the

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...

(M5S) and approved under the

Conte I Cabinet The first Conte government was the 65th government of the Italy, Italian Republic. It was led by Giuseppe Conte, an Independent (politician), independent, and it was in office from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. The cabinet was formed by a co ...

. According to research from Italy's National Institute of Statistics, there were "one million fewer poor people thanks to the citizen' income" and the subsidy had been useful in reducing excess poverty, especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Italy The COVID-19 pandemic in Italy was part of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on 31 January 2 ...

and the subsequent

COVID-19 recession The COVID-19 recession was a global economic recession caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. The recession began in most countries in February 2020. After a year of global economic slowdown that saw stagnation of economic growth and consumer activit ...

. Poverty in Italy remained high, as 56% of the poor did not receive the allowance because they had not resided in Italy for at least 10 years, did not turn to the Centre of Fiscal Assistance and Patronages, or already had savings. The citizens' income received attention during the campaign for the

2022 Italian general election Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...

, as the parties composing the centre-right coalition wanted to abolish the measure entirely, while the

centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1995, when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left coalition has ruled the c ...

wanted to reform and improve it and the M5S defended it from criticism. On 1 January 2024, the Citizens' Income was abolished and replaced by two new subsidies targeting people below a certain level of poverty: the Inclusion cheques (), reserved for those who have to care for underage, elder, or disabled family-members, and the Aid to vocational training (), reserved for unemployed people who are both ineligible for Inclusion cheques and actively looking for a job.

References

Economy of Italy Welfare in Italy {{Italy-law-stub

See also

References