The dramatic drop recorded by household consumption in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the sudden rise in the propensity to save and to the accumulation of substantial financial resources. This paper quantifies these resources and their distribution across households. It also formulates considerations on future developments in savings and consumption using data from the ECB's Consumer Expectations Survey.
It is estimated that the additional financial assets accumulated from 2020Q1 until 2023Q1 total about €130 billion. More than 60 per cent of the accrued savings are held by the highest-income households, though the phenomenon characterized the less affluent ones as well. The direct contribution of the accumulated savings drawdown to the recovery in aggregate consumption is probably limited; better-off households are likely providing heftier support, in particular for leisure-related expenses.
