Abstract

The article offers a critical overview of the measures against poverty included in the Italian Financial Act for 2016. As a first step, it stresses the policy shift from occasional intervention to long term financial commitment: the law aims to reform the fragmented Italian system of monetary support for poor families by introducing a universal national minimum income scheme. However, the reform adopts a model that continues to classify beneficiaries into very specific categories instead of promoting a universalist approach. Further, the relevant financial allocations are woefully insufficient for a successful implementation of the program. Finally, the article asserts that the relationships between national and local levels of intervention should be defined in greater detail.