Abstract

A quarter of Italian workers have a low individual wage (i.e. below 60% of the median), and more than one in 10 are in poverty (i.e. they live in a household with a net equivalent income below 60% of the median). In the public debate, in-work poverty is often linked to low wages whereas it is the result of a process that goes far beyond wages, and concerns also work intensity, the household structure, and redistribution policies. A strategy against in-work poverty therefore requires multiple instruments to support workers’ wages, increase the number of earners, and ensure an effective redistributive system. In this contribution, after a discussion of the mechanisms that lead to in-work poverty, we discuss four policy packages to address in-work poverty in Italy.