2020 was a tough year for Italy which, due to the pandemic, saw its public debt explode, which last February already reached a record of 2.643 billion euros.
In this context, however, there is one datum that bodes well. According to the monitor published by the Intesa Sanpaolo Studies and Research Department, while public debt has continued to rise, that of local administrations decreased compared to 2019 by 800 million euros, falling to 84,2 billion. At the basis of this trend there is an explanation: “the central government has taken charge the burden of supporting the economy, through an exceptional increase in the degree of debt – explains Intesa Sanpaolo – while for local governments the impact was negligible, also due to the effect of the transfer of resources which during the year were carried out by the central government in favor of the local administrations”. We are talking, in figures, about 12 billion of resources allocated to the municipalities and 4,5 billion to the Regions.
THE DEBT OF MUNICIPALITIES AND REGIONS
There is also another feature to consider. The reduction concerned only the Municipalities, while the debt of the Regions has grown, returning to mid-decade levels.
Going into the details of the individual sectors, in 2020 the debt of the municipalities (which represents over 40% of the local one) recorded a decrease of 1,8 billion euros to 33,9 billion, returning to the levels of 2003.
Much lower than the debt Provinces and Metropolitan Cities, equal to 6,4 billion euros (7,6% of the total); also for this sector, the debt experienced a contraction of its stock in 2020, equal to 200 million euros.
Let's move on to the sore point, the regions. After keeping their debt substantially stable in recent years, in 2020 the Regions saw their debt increase by 1,8 billion euros, an increase that brings the stock of regional debt back to mid-decade levels (33,5 billion euros EUR). "This rise - reads the report - is the reflection of the tensions experienced by these institutions, at the forefront of the battle against the epidemic and subjected to a significant increase in expenses.
It should also be considered that the Municipalities, at least until 2019, recorded a decrease in debt burdens. The Regions, on the contrary, find themselves having to deal with a decidedly higher cost of debt (equal to 3,2% in 2019).
Turning to geography, the report underlines how “In 2020, local debt fell everywhere, with the exception of the Centre, where instead there was an increase of 754 million in the stock of local government debt. The subdivision by sector shows how this increase originates mainly in a significant increase (1,1 billion euros) of the debt of the Regions, in particular of the Centre".
PER CAPITA DEBT
The trend of local debt expressed in per capita terms is also interesting. The national average is equal to 1.411 € per inhabitant, but at the regional level the differences are enormous, with Campania, Calabria, but above all Lazio and Piedmont which are placed well beyond the indicated threshold. “In the last two – specifies Intesa – the local debt per inhabitant approaches (or in the case of Lazio, exceeds) 2.500 euros in 2020”.
In any case, compared to 2020, last year the majority of Regions reduced their debt stock. The greatest decreases were recorded in Molise (-114 euros per inhabitant) and Calabria (-112 euros) and Valle d'Aosta (-651 euros per inhabitant). Reverse trend for Liguria (+88 euros) and Lazio (+171 euros).
