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Over the last decades western societies have witnessedsignificant changes in inequality levels. Among the various factorswhich have been explored to explain differences and trends inincome inequality, there is one which has received relativelylittle attention: differences and changes in householdcharacteristics. This book aims to fill this gap: it explores thechanging relationship between the economic and demographiccharacteristics of Italian families and income inequality. Theanalyses show that the equalising power of Italian families hasdecreased in recent decades. But, it is also found that therelevance of income differences between household forms, indetermining the level of income inequality, is increasing. Inaddition, it results that the recent impoverishment of youngfamilies with children has contributed to boost incomeinequalities, whereas the increasing participation of women in topaid labour market has had an equalising effect. These findingsshould help scholars, interested in inequality and family, inhaving a better understanding of the redistributive consequences ofthe most recent demographic and economic changes in SouthernEuropean societies.
