Regional redistribution and risk sharing in Italy: the role of different ties of government

This paper provides estimates of the redistribution and risk sharing across regional jurisdictions accomplished by the public sector in Italy. In this analysis the multi-level structure of the Italian government and the financial relations which link the different tiers of government are explicitly considered. Using panel data for the period 1996–2002, it is found that public policies in Italy significantly reduce differences in per-capita gross domestic product across regions. However, the public budget, far from providing insurance against idiosyncratic shocks, greatly emphasizes income fluctuations across regions.