ITALY – Welfare spending, which includes pensions as well as unemployment benefit, doubled between 1990 and 2002 in Italy.

It has risen from 112.2 billion euros to 228.3 billion euros and accounted for 18.2% of gross domestic product in 2002, according to national statistics institute, Istat.

The Rome-based institute has published a report on the public expenditure, Spesa delle Amministrazioni Pubbliche per Funzione, in which as well as welfare expenses, the bills for public transport, agriculture, school, health service and environment protection come under scrutiny.

The increase in welfare and health service costs come in contrast with the data referring to the other sectors, where expenses have been either contained or have decreased.

“The importance of the welfare can be seen from the fact that, in the period under examination 1990-2002, nearly 35% of the whole public expenditure has been absorbed by such a function”, the report says.

“Such a tendency becomes even more evident if the passive interests net expense is considered,” the report goes on.

The category “welfare expense” the report explains, includes unemployment indemnities, “prepesnionamento’ expenses- indemnities that due to employees retired before the minimum pension age and invalidity, maternity, liability and illness indemnities.

The welfare expenses took up to 44% of the whole public expenditure in the last four years of the period considered, 1998-2002,and came first in the list of the “most relevant functions” referring to 2002, the last year of the 12-year under scrutiny.

“The development and the eventual adjustment of the welfare state constitute a fundamental element in the choices made_through economic-policies in both the qualitative and quantitative profiles,” Istat said.