Abstract

Covid-19 caused one of the worst economic and social crises in the contemporary world. Its impacts are transversal to social groups and countries, although since the beginning Italy has been hit hard with a large spectrum of implications. As has recently been clearly pointed out for the Italian case, low income and marginalised individuals constitute the groups most exposed to Covid-19 effects. Furthermore, these effects remain evident even when taking into account the Italian government’s specific measures to react to the implications of Covid-19. This study aims to understand which categories are most affected by the pandemic among the poorest and most marginalised populations. The analysis is based on the first (2019) and second (2020) rounds of the Caritas survey Monitoring the minimum income schemes for Caritas beneficiaries carried out in 16 territorial units covering 13 Italian regions. These surveys have the advantage of gathering information on a marginalised segment of the population which is scarcely accounted for in regular national surveys. The analysis shows that among the marginalised population active (young) households with minors, a new poverty profile, are the most affected by Covid-19, but it also finds a critical impact on more «traditional» profiles of marginalised households in terms of higher exposure to social risks.