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The paper examines the geographical variability in house prices, focusing on the gradient from the center to peripheral areas. Our results show large price differentials within the main urban areas, even larger than those observed between the Center-North and South of Italy. The higher real estate prices in the centers of urban areas are affected by centripetal pressures from the demand side, to which supply only partially adjusts. We find that better infrastructure and lower commuting times can, however, mitigate the centripetal pressure on the demand side and flatten the gradient. Finally, we also find a center-periphery gradient for incomes ; however the latter is less steep than that of house prices, thus indicating that the ratio between the value of houses and income is higher in the city center and lower in the periphery.

Italian Abstract: Il lavoro analizza la variabilita territoriale dei prezzi delle case, concentrandosi in particolare sul gradiente dal centro verso i quartieri e i comuni periferici. Le differenze lungo queste dimensioni nelle aree urbane sono ampie, anche piu di quelle esistenti tra Centro Nord e Mezzogiorno. Le piu elevate quotazioni immobiliari al centro dipendono da pressioni centripete dal lato della domanda (connesse anche al tipo di attivita economiche svolte sul territorio) cui l’offerta si adegua solo in parte. Una migliore dotazione infrastrutturale e una maggiore facilita di spostamento, tuttavia, possono rendere le periferie meno distanti e attenuare, pertanto, il prezzo della vicinanza al centro e l’inclinazione del gradiente. La distribuzione dei prezzi delle case sul territorio rispecchia, infine, quella dei redditi, sebbene la prima presenti differenze piu marcate; il rapporto tra il valore degli immobili e il reddito e piu elevato al centro delle citta e piu contenuto nelle periferie.English Abstract: The paper examines the geographical variability in house prices, focusing on the gradient from the center to peripheral areas. The results reveal large price differentials in the main urban areas, even more than those between the Centre-North and South. The higher real estate prices in the centers of urban areas are affected by centripetal pressures from the demand side (also related to the local economic activities) to which supply only partially adjusts. We find that better infrastructures and lower commuting times can, however, bring the suburbs closer to the center and accordingly mitigate the cost of living centrally and the inclination of the gradient. Finally, we find a center-periphery gradient also for incomes, though this is less steep than that of house prices; it follows that the ratio between the value of houses and income is higher in the city center and lower in the periphery.

The supply chain of the real estate sector accounts for one fifth of Italian GDP; its importance for the banking system is even greater: lending to this sector accounts for more than one third of total loans to the private sector. The crisis in the construction and real estate sector started even before the global financial crisis of 2008 and hit firms in the sector and the banks that finance them. The fall in turnover and profitability has greatly increased the economic and financial vulnerability of firms, undermining their ability to repay their debt, particularly, in the case of large and highly leveraged firms. Due to the increase of loans classified as bad debts, the banking system has tightened conditions on new loans to this sector

Italian Abstract: La filiera del settore immobiliare contribuisce per oltre un quinto al prodotto interno lordo; la sua rilevanza per il sistema bancario e ancora piu elevata: il credito concesso alle imprese del comparto supera il 34 per cento dei finanziamenti al settore privato. La prolungata e intensa crisi che ha colpito il settore delle costruzioni e il mercato immobiliare, iniziata ancora prima della crisi finanziaria del 2008, ha avuto ripercussioni molto negative sulle imprese della filiera e sulle banche che le hanno finanziate. Il calo delle vendite e della redditivita, superiore a quello medio del complesso delle imprese, ha fortemente aumentato la fragilita economica e finanziaria delle aziende della filiera, gia caratterizzate da un livello di indebitamento piu alto della media. Di riflesso e molto cresciuta la quota di imprese con problemi nel rimborso dei prestiti, in particolare tra quelle di maggiori dimensioni e che avevano un leverage elevato. Il peggioramento della qualita del credito ha fortemente condizionato la concessione di nuovi finanziamenti al comparto.English Abstract: The supply chain of the real estate sector accounts for one fifth of Italian GDP; its importance for the banking system is even greater: lending to this sector accounts for more than one third of total loans to the private sector. The crisis in the construction and real estate sector started even before the global financial crisis of 2008 and hit firms in the sector and the banks that finance them. The fall in turnover and profitability has greatly increased the economic and financial vulnerability of firms, undermining their ability to repay their debt, particularly, in the case of large and highly leveraged firms. Due to the increase of non-performing loans, the banking system has tightened conditions on new loans to this sector.

In questo lavoro, mediante l’utilizzo di un ampio campione di individui tra i 25 e i 54 anni, si analizza la partecipazione al mercato del credito e la vulnerabilità finanziaria per classe di reddito tra il 2005 e il 2011. Nel periodo considerato la percentuale di individui che detenevano un debito di almeno 75 mila euro è aumentata, prevalentemente per il rallentamento del ritmo di rimborso del debito. La dinamica è stata eterogenea tra le classi di reddito: i nuovi indebitati appartenevano prevalentemente ai decili di reddito più elevati; il rallentamento nel ritmo di rimborso è stato più accentuato per le fasce di reddito medie e basse. Nel periodo sono aumentate le difficoltà nel pagamento del debito: i tassi di anomalia nel quintile più povero della popolazione erano 10 volte più elevati di quelli nel quintile più ricco; tale divario si è ampliato con la crisi. Nostre stime mostrano che l’instabilità del reddito accresce significativamente l’insorgenza di difficoltà finanziarie. Tuttavia, l’elevata concentrazione del debito presso le classi di reddito più ricche ha contribuito a contenere la rischiosità complessiva.

In this paper we examine credit market participation and financial vulnerability by income, making use of a large sample of individuals aged 25-54. From 2005 to 2011 the percentage of individuals with more than �75,000 of debt increased, mainly as a result of slower debt repayment. Developments differed across income classes: the new borrowers were mainly concentrated in higher income classes, while the slowdown in debt repayment was more pronounced for the middle and lower income groups. During the period debt-servicing difficulties also increased: the delinquency rate in the poorest quintile of the population was 10 times higher than that in the richest quintile. This gap widened further in the wake of the global financial crisis. Our estimates show that income instability significantly increased the prevalence of financial distress. However, the high concentration of debt in the richest income classes helped to mitigate banks� overall risk.

Italian Abstract: Mediante l’utilizzo di un campione di individui tra i 25 e i 54 anni, si analizza la partecipazione al mercato del credito e la vulnerabilita finanziaria per classe di reddito tra il 2005 e il 2011. Nel periodo considerato la percentuale di individui che detenevano un debito di almeno 75 mila euro e aumentata, prevalentemente per il rallentamento del ritmo di rimborso del debito. La dinamica e stata eterogenea tra le classi di reddito: i nuovi indebitati appartenevano ai decili di reddito piu elevati; il rallentamento nel ritmo di rimborso e stato piu accentuato per le fasce di reddito medie e basse. Sono aumentate le difficolta nel pagamento del debito: i tassi di anomalia nel quintile piu povero della popolazione erano 10 volte piu elevati di quelli nel quintile piu ricco; tale divario si e ampliato con la crisi. Nostre stime mostrano che l’instabilita del reddito accresce l’insorgenza di difficolta finanziarie. Tuttavia, l’elevata concentrazione del debito presso le classi di reddito piu ricche ha contribuito a contenere la rischiosita complessiva.English Abstract: In this paper we examine credit market participation and financial vulnerability by income, making use of a large sample of individuals aged 25-54. From 2005 to 2011 the percentage of individuals with more than €75,000 of debt increased, mainly as a result of slower debt repayment. Developments differed across income classes: the new borrowers were mainly concentrated in higher income classes, while the slowdown in debt repayment was more pronounced for the middle and lower income groups. During the period debt-servicing difficulties also increased: the delinquency rate in the poorest quintile of the population was 10 times higher than that in the richest quintile. This gap widened further in the wake of the global financial crisis. Our estimates show that income instability significantly increased the prevalence of financial distress. However, the high concentration of debt in the richest income classes helped to mitigate banks’ overall risk.

Italian Abstract: In questo lavoro, mediante l’utilizzo di un ampio campione di individui tra i 25 e i 54 anni, si analizza la partecipazione al mercato del credito e la vulnerabilita finanziaria per classe di reddito tra il 2005 e il 2011. Nel periodo considerato la percentuale di individui che detenevano un debito di almeno 75 mila euro e aumentata, prevalentemente per il rallentamento del ritmo di rimborso del debito. La dinamica e stata eterogenea tra le classi di reddito: i nuovi indebitati appartenevano prevalentemente ai decili di reddito piu elevati; il rallentamento nel ritmo di rimborso e stato piu accentuato per le fasce di reddito medie e basse. Nel periodo sono aumentate le difficolta nel pagamento del debito: i tassi di anomalia nel quintile piu povero della popolazione erano 10 volte piu elevati di quelli nel quintile piu ricco; tale divario si e ampliato con la crisi. Nostre stime mostrano che l’instabilita del reddito accresce significativamente l’insorgenza di difficolta finanziarie. Tuttavia, l’elevata concentrazione del debito presso le classi di reddito piu ricche ha contribuito a contenere la rischiosita complessiva. English Abstract: In this work, through the use of a large sample of individuals between 25 and 54 years, we analyze the participation in the credit market and the financial vulnerability by income class between 2005 and 2011. In the period considered the percentage of individuals holding a debt of at least 75 thousand euros increased, mainly due to the slowdown in the repayment rhythm of the debt. The dynamics were heterogeneous among the income classes: the new indebted persons belonged mostly to the higher income deciles; the slowdown in the repayment rhythm was more pronounced for the middle and lower income brackets. Difficulties in the payment of the debt increased during the period: the anomalous rates in the poorest quintile of the population were 10 times higher than those in the richest quintile; this gap has widened with the crisis. Our estimates show that income instability significantly increases the onset of financial difficulties. However, the high concentration of debt among the wealthiest income classes helped to contain the overall risk.

This paper depicts � from a variety of viewpoints � the degree of indebtedness and potential financial vulnerabilities of households across the Italian regions. Micro-data from several sources suggest that the financial situation of Italian households shows striking differences at geographical level; some of these differences have partly faded in recent years, whereas under other respects no substantial convergence can be detected. The recent evolution has been heterogeneous for the different socio-demographic classes (income quartiles, citizenship, age of the head, etc.), owing to both demand factors from the part of the households, and supply policies from the part of the banks; the latter in particular changed after the inception of the economic and financial crisis.

The constitutional reforms of 2001 and 2003 empowered the Italian regions to enact legislation aimed at removing barriers to effective gender equality. The laws they have adopted in this field are often fragmented � only in a few cases do they form a consistent, comprehensive framework � and the general lack of monitoring and absence of an effective sanctioning system make enforcement deficient. Policies for employment, for entrepreneurship and for work-life balance also differ widely among the regions. With the crisis, policies for female employment have generally been subsumed under the more general framework of support for disadvantaged workers, particularly with participation in the PARI and Welfare to Work programmes. Women have benefited extensively from these programmes, albeit with differences from region to region. Policies for entrepreneurship remain more female-oriented. Despite coordination between the central government and the regions, Italy remains far from the European targets for childcare provision and the North-South gap has not narrowed.

Con le riforme costituzionali del 2001 e 2003 le Regioni hanno assunto la potesta di legiferare per rimuovere gli ostacoli all’effettiva parita di genere. Le norme adottate sono spesso frammentate e solo in pochi casi costituiscono un quadro organico; inoltre la diffusa mancanza di previsioni di attivita di monitoraggio o di un efficace apparato sanzionatorio rende carenti gli strumenti di tutela introdotti. Anche le politiche per l’occupazione dipendente, per l’imprenditoria e per la conciliazione vita-lavoro sono molto variegate. Con la crisi, le prime sono state fatte rientrare, quasi ovunque, nel piu generale sostegno ai lavoratori svantaggiati, soprattutto con l’adesione ai programmi PARI e Welfare to work. Le donne ne hanno beneficiato in misura elevata anche se diversa da regione a regione. Negli interventi a favore dell’imprenditoria la connotazione femminile e rimasta piu diffusa. Tra le politiche per la conciliazione, vi e stato un maggiore sforzo coordinato Stato-Regioni per favorire la diffusione di asili nido, ma l’Italia si mantiene lontana dagli obiettivi europei e il divario Nord-Sud non si e ridotto. The constitutional reforms of 2001 and 2003 empowered the Italian regions to enact legislation aimed at removing barriers to effective gender equality. The laws they have adopted in this field are often fragmented – only in a few cases do they form a consistent, comprehensive framework – and the general lack of monitoring and absence of an effective sanctioning system make enforcement deficient. Policies for employment, for entrepreneurship and for work-life balance also differ widely among the regions. With the crisis, policies for female employment have generally been subsumed under the more general framework of support for disadvantaged workers, particularly with participation in the PARI and Welfare to Work programmes. Women have benefited extensively from these programmes, albeit with differences from region to region. Policies for entrepreneurship remain more female-oriented. Despite coordination between the central government and the regions, Italy remains far from the European targets for childcare provision and the North-South gap has not narrowed.

This paper depicts – from a variety of viewpoints – the degree of indebtedness and potential financial vulnerabilities of households across the Italian regions. Micro-data from several sources suggest that the financial situation of Italian households shows striking differences at geographical level; some of these differences have partly faded in recent years, whereas under other respects no substantial convergence can be detected. The recent evolution has been heterogeneous for the different socio-demographic classes (income quartiles, citizenship, age of the head, etc.), owing to both demand factors from the part of the households, and supply policies from the part of the banks; the latter in particular changed after the inception of the economic and financial crisis.

Using information on about 2 million house purchase loans to households, this paper analyses the effects of the financial crisis on this portion of the credit market. From 2008 to 2011 the total number and value of new mortgages decreased sharply. The results show that young households and non-EU immigrants have been affected more by the decline of new mortgages. The worsening of the economic cycle and the tightening of the lending standards by banks seem to have had a stronger effect on these types of household. Interest rate increases for different groups of household have been fairly similar, albeit greater for smaller mortgages.