Abstract
Abstract The project "Inequality and generations in Italy (1914-2008)". (acronym: INGENI) aims at analysing evolution of inequality in its effects on the different stages of life (youth, adulthood, old age) from the First World War to the economic crisis of 2008. In recent decades, the issue of inequality has returned to the centre of attention of researchers following the widening of the income gap since the mid-1980s. The attention of historical research has focused mainly on the re-emergence of social marginality. INGENI project intends to analyse the historical evolution of inequality through an innovative approach. The project examines how the evolution of inequality has affected the three different age groups (youth, adulthood, old age). Starting from the awareness that the age stratification is influenced by the generational factor in the sense that different generations perceive age boundaries differently, the first step of the project will be to define the boundaries of the three ages and their variation over time in relation to social and cultural changes. After having conceptualised the three age groups in a historical perspective, the first objective of the project will be to verify the evolution of inequality both in terms of the change in the income gap and in terms of the change in opportunities in the three age groups. The second objective of the project will be to analyse the generation impact of welfare policies which, through the action of state transfers and/or income made available by the provision of services, contribute to the variation of inequality understood not only as a level of income but also as opportunities and the construction of identity. The third objective will be to examine the role of consumerism in the analysis of inequality in order to highlight how the spread and the quality of consumption influences the perception of inequality. The fourth objective of the project aims to analyse how migration flows have had an impact on the issue of inequality. As far as sources are concerned, INGENI will refer to existing economic data and indices and will analyse a wide range of primary sources (correspondence, political and popular press) supplementing them for the most recent period by administering questionnaires to a sample of people. A final conference is planned at the end of the project, as well as a multi-level publication strategy that will consist in the publication of an open access volume and the submission of two special issues proposals to international journals as well as a non academic dissemination of the results.
Results achieved
The project analysed the issue of inequality, focusing on three different aspects: income inequality, inequality in opportunities for social mobility, and the varying impact of inequality on different age groups (young people, adults, older people) and on different generations. The project first highlighted the differences in inequality between the various generations (baby boomers, Generation X, Generation Z) and brought to light the different types of inequality across the various age groups. In youth – the definition of which has varied over time – there has been a shift from the idea of mobility within a social class to that of vertical mobility, and the protests of 1968 marked a significant turning point in this regard. The concept of intellectual unemployment emerged during fascism as an effect of structural imbalances between educational output and labour market absorption. The failure of fascist regimes to resolve these tensions, it was revived in the Republican age. In this context, drawing on previously unexamined material from the historical archives of the University of Bologna and the regional body for the right to education, Er.go, the research highlighted how the policies supporting the right to education developed during the Republican era were, in part, a continuation of strategies initiated earlier and how, despite the persistence of the notion that university was reserved for the few, the rise in enrolment figures began to undermine the traditional elitist model. The great social transformation of 1968 was also reflected in popular customs and culture, which the magazines of the time both documented and sought to shape, particularly in the context of gender-based interpersonal relationships. In the 1980s, the large growth in consumption and the widespread of Commercial communication leads to the growth of intangible expectations among younger generations. But the introduction of new low-remuneration contracts for young people were the cause of a growth in inequality. In this context, Research has shown how young people remain in the family and are economically dependent on their parents, but above all they lose the political protagonism they had assumed in the sixties and seventies. With regard to adulthood, the research has highlighted the role of institutions, public policies and the actors operating within society in managing social disparities in twentieth-century Italy. Although adopting different approaches, the contributions share a focus on the structural mechanisms that have influenced access to material resources, social rights and opportunities for integration, highlighting how inequalities are not merely a reflection of economic dynamics, but the result of political choices, regulatory frameworks and public representations. The reconstruction of the evolution of income and wealth inequalities in Italy from the Great War to the 2008 crisis has demonstrated the link between phases of stabilisation, reduction and renewed growth, on the one hand, and the development of the welfare state, the tax system and labour market transformations, on the other. Furthermore, the research analysed the relationship between migration and inequalities in the 1970s and 1980s, demonstrating, firstly, how the integration practices promoted by the Catholic associative movement compensated for the state’s inaction in the absence of an adequate regulatory framework and, secondly, how, between 1986 and 2008, there was a shift towards security- and identity-based approaches at the expense of adult migrants’ access to social and political rights. With regard to older people, the research explored their ‘invisibility’ in historical accounts – a cultural phenomenon linked to the prevalence of ageism – and the stereotypes that have become widespread throughout the history of the Italian Republic. An analysis of advertising then highlighted the transformations in the image of older people through their role as consumers. With regard to the gender dimension, the research explored the inequality linked to the intersection of age and gender across the three different age groups. Through an analysis of public perception, stereotypes and possible shifts in the image of older people between the post-war period and the 1990s, the research demonstrated how the world of advertising – which has only recently begun to show an interest in older people, due to a cultural stereotype that viewed old age as a problematic phase, characterised by a withdrawal from the active and productive world – Two widely circulated magazines (La Domenica del Corriere and Oggi), television programmes, scientific literature and advertisements – both in magazines and on television – were analysed. During the Project, public engagement initiatives were also carried out for schools. The results of the research were presented and discussed at a conference held in Bologna in July 2025. Subsequently, in February 2026 the research published the results in Italian in a diamond open access volume entitled: Disuguaglianza e generazioni in Italia 1914-2008 (https://books.unibo.it/almadiamond/catalog/book/29).Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Stefano Cavazza
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento delle Arti
Coordinatore:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Contributo totale di progetto: Euro (EUR) 184.601,00
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 72.894,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
