An introduction to Italian balance sheets: methodology and stylized facts

Luigi Infante and Francesco Vercelli ()
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Francesco Vercelli: Bank of Italy

No 559, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: Balance sheet statistics are included in the national accounts system and provide a complete framework for analysing the wealth of a nation and its evolution over time. The paper presents Italian balance sheets, compiled using data on financial accounts produced by the Bank of Italy and non-financial asset data calculated by Istat, the Italian National Institute of Statistics. We provide stylized facts on the comparison between Italy and other major economies, taking into account the statistical comparability limits on non-financial assets across countries. In Italy, the ratio of non-financial assets to gross wealth increased from 43 to 47 per cent between 2005 and 2008 because of the dynamics of housing prices. It then gradually decreased from 2012, reaching 41 per cent at the end of 2017. The net wealth of Italian households far outweighs the negative values reported in the public sector. The ratio of net wealth to income is high in Italy compared with other countries; nevertheless, the gap has narrowed over the last decade.

Keywords: Balance sheet statistics; sector wealth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E01 E21 E22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-ban and nep-mac
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