Politics · Italy · 10 hrs ago
David Card urges review of support for low-paid workers
Economist David Card called for a review of support for poor workers at an event in Turin, Italy.
He said subsidies can be generous but may fail when they do not reach people effectively.
Italy's absolute poverty rate was 8.5% in households with an employed wage earner, according to figures cited by Intesa Sanpaolo chief economist Gregorio De Felice.
The rate rose to 14.3% when the worker was a manual or similar worker.
The figures underline that having a job does not always protect a household from poverty.
Card said support programmes need careful analysis so they can be corrected and made more effective.
Nobel economics laureate David Card called for a review of policies supporting low-paid workers.
Card said some generous subsidy programmes may still fall short because resources are not distributed properly.
He spoke at a meeting at the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper during the International Festival of Economics in Turin.
Intesa Sanpaolo chief economist Gregorio De Felice cited Italian poverty figures showing higher absolute poverty among families where the worker is a manual worker or equivalent.
- Who
- David Card, Nobel economics laureate, and Gregorio De Felice, chief economist of Intesa Sanpaolo.
- What
- Card called for a review of support policies for low-paid workers. De Felice cited Italian data on absolute poverty among working families.
- When
- The article was published on 24 October 2026. The meeting date is not stated.
- Where
- At the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper in Turin, during the International Festival of Economics.
- Why
- Card said some subsidy programmes do not distribute resources correctly and may not be sufficient.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Italy’s statistics agency Istat released poverty figures cited by De Felice.
ANSA published its report on Card’s call to review support policies for low-paid workers.
- Speaker
- David Card, Nobel economics laureate
- Venue
- Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper, Turin
- Event
- International Festival of Economics
- Absolute poverty among families with an employed person
- 8.5% when the worker is salaried
- Absolute poverty among families with a manual worker or equivalent
- 14.3%
What people are saying
Careful analysis is essential to correct programmes and make them efficient.
A lot is being done in terms of subsidies, but programmes, even if very generous, are not always sufficient, because they distribute resources in the wrong way.
Among families with one employed person, the incidence of absolute poverty is 8.5% if the employed person is a salaried worker, but rises to 14.3% if they are classified as a manual worker or equivalent.