Disuguaglianza

La riduzione delle disuguaglianze per i cittadini dell'UE e la promozione della convergenza verso l'alto delle condizioni di vita sono in cima all'agenda politica della Commissione europea. I fattori che determinano la disuguaglianza possono includere il genere, l'età, la disabilità, lo stato occupazionale e la cittadinanza, con implicazioni per la retribuzione e il reddito, l'accesso ai servizi sociali, sanitari e educativi.

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Articolo

15 September 2025

A picture of wealth inequality across EU Member States
Carlos Vacas‑Soriano

Wealth inequality across EU Member States has important implications for access to education, healthcare and housing, as well as for people’s ability to actively participate in society.

This article summarises some of the main findings from the recently published report Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU. It maps wealth inequalities across EU Member States by drawing on data from the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS), covering the period between 2010 and 2021.

Rapporto di ricerca

15 September 2025

Unequal wealth: Exploring socioeconomic disparities across the EU
Zsolt Darvasand 3 other authors
Wealth inequality is not just an economic issue but a societal one. Ownership of assets can have significant implications for access to education, healthcare, housing and political influence. This study examines wealth inequality trends across EU Member States, using data from the European Central Bank’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey and covering 2010–2021.
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January 2026

Getting by in a changing Europe: Findings from the Living and Working in the EU e-survey 2025
Eszter Sándor,
Massimiliano Mascherini
This factsheet provides a comprehensive overview of recent trends and their implications for living and working conditions across the EU. It investigates economic pressures, insecurity, and savings buffers across different social groups. Survey results also highlights declining mental wellbeing, optimism and widening inequalities in trust in institutions.

Informazioni Disuguaglianza

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29 October 2024

Articolo

A snapshot of income inequality and middle class across the EU

After years of being sidelined in the European policy debate as labour markets recovered in the wake of the Great Recession, inequality is back on the agenda following the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis. A widespread public perception is that inequality is growing while the middle class is shrinking. This article presents a more nuanced picture: income inequality in the EU as a whole has declined due to strong income convergence between the Member States; changes in income inequality across these countries are mixed, increasing in about half of them and declining in the other half; and the middle class shrank in almost two-thirds of Member States since 2006.

24 January 2023

Rapporto di ricerca

Economic and social inequalities in Europe in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had varying impacts on social groups, depending on existing disadvantages, and it was widely believed that it triggered a rise in inequalities across different areas of life. Using indicators from the EU’s Multidimensional Inequality Monitoring Framework (MIMF), this report shows how inequality in the spheres of income, health, employment and education changed between 2010 and 2020. It also examines the main drivers of this change during the pandemic and explores the relationships between government policies in several domains and inequality.

20 December 2021

Relazione faro

Monitoring convergence in the European Union: Looking backwards to move forward – Upward convergence through crises

Upward convergence lies at the heart of the EU project. Member States and their citizens sign up to be part of the Union, as they expect their membership will lead to balanced economic prosperity and social progress across countries. Increasing disparities between Member States, as happened during the 2008–2013 economic crisis, could be seen as a betrayal of the EU’s promise, and potentially lay the seeds for discontent and disintegration. This flagship report is the culmination of Eurofound’s research into monitoring convergence in the EU, which was initiated in 2017. It describes the shifting dynamics of upward convergence over the period 2008–2019, explores the short-term impact of COVID-19 on European economies and societies, together with its implications for convergence, and discusses the long-term effects of the pandemic and the future of upward economic and social convergence in Europe.

9 May 2021

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Living, working and COVID-19 (Update April 2021): Mental health and trust decline across EU as pandemic enters another year

The third round of Eurofound's e-survey, fielded in February and March 2021, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe following nearly a full year of living with COVID-19 restrictions. This report analyses the main findings and tracks ongoing developments and trends across the 27 EU Member States since the survey was first launched in April 2020. It pinpoints issues that have surfaced over the course of the pandemic, such as increased job insecurity due to the threat of job loss, decline in mental well-being levels, erosion of recent gains in gender equality, fall in trust levels vis-à-vis institutions, deterioration of work–life balance and growth of vaccine hesitancy. The results of the survey highlight the need for a holistic approach to support all the groups hit hard by the crisis in order to prevent them from falling further behind.

30 March 2021

Rapporto di ricerca

Wealth distribution and social mobility

This report explores the distribution of household wealth in the EU Member States and analyses the role of wealth in social mobility. Using data from three datasets (the Household Finance and Consumption Survey, the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the Luxembourg Wealth Study), it focuses on wealth per household member. Wealth composition is compared across social groups and countries, and the role of housing assets in wealth distribution and negative wealth is assessed. The findings show that parental background, including parental wealth, has an impact on educational and wealth mobility. In order to promote equality of opportunities in terms of access to education and housing, the impact of wealth inequalities, including differences in parental wealth, should be counterbalanced. The report also suggests that regularising wealth declaration in the EU could be a way of promoting social justice by minimising hidden wealth and combating tax evasion.

10 December 2019

Documento programmatico

A more equal Europe? Convergence and the European Pillar of Social Rights

The European Pillar of Social Rights is designed to act as a compass for a renewed process of upward convergence among Member States towards better working and living conditions. It is accompanied by a Social Scoreboard to monitor the progress made by Member States. This policy brief presents the results of an investigation into the upward convergence patterns of the headline indicators of the Social Scoreboard and the relationship between convergence and the business cycle from 2008 to 2018. The results show that although the economic crisis that engulfed Europe from 2008 slowed down the convergence of Member States on some indicators, upward convergence on several has been restored, including the indicators on employment and risk of poverty. While the analysis uncovers different dynamics of upward convergence for most indicators, some very stable and some more unstable, few indicators still show a downward trend over the decade.

Esperti su Disuguaglianza

I ricercatori di Eurofound forniscono approfondimenti esperti e possono essere contattati per domande o richieste dei media.

Tadas Leončikas

Head of Unit
Employment research

Tadas Leončikas è capo dell'unità per l'occupazione di Eurofound dal settembre 2022. In precedenza, è stato senior research manager presso l'unità Politiche sociali, gestendo l'indagine europea sulla qualità della vita (EQLS) e sviluppando la ricerca dell'indagine di Eurofound. Da quando è entrato a far parte di Eurofound nel 2010, ha lavorato su vari temi, tra cui i metodi di indagine, la qualità della vita, la mobilità sociale, l'inclusione sociale, la fiducia e le inadeguatezze abitative. All'inizio della sua carriera, ha diretto l'Istituto per gli studi etnici in Lituania, dove ha lavorato a studi relativi alla situazione delle minoranze etniche, dei migranti e di altri gruppi vulnerabili. Come ricercatore, ha precedentemente collaborato con l'Agenzia dell'Unione Europea per i Diritti Fondamentali, il Programma delle Nazioni Unite per lo Sviluppo e l'Organizzazione Internazionale per le Migrazioni. Ha un dottorato di ricerca in Sociologia.

Massimiliano Mascherini

Head of Unit
Social policies research

Massimiliano Mascherini è capo dell'unità Politiche sociali di Eurofound dall'ottobre 2019. È entrato a far parte di Eurofound nel 2009 come responsabile della ricerca, progettando e coordinando progetti sull'occupazione giovanile, i NEET e la loro inclusione sociale, nonché sulla partecipazione delle donne al mercato del lavoro. Nel 2017 è diventato senior research manager presso l'unità Politiche sociali, dove ha guidato nuove ricerche sul monitoraggio della convergenza nell'UE. Oltre a lavorare all'indagine europea sulla qualità della vita, dirige anche la preparazione e l'analisi delle indagini elettroniche sulla COVID-19. In precedenza, è stato funzionario scientifico presso il Joint Research Centre della Commissione Europea. Ha studiato presso l'Università degli Studi di Firenze, dove si è laureato in scienze attuariali e statistiche e ha conseguito il dottorato di ricerca in Statistica Applicata. È stato visiting fellow presso l'Università di Sydney e presso l'Università di Aalborg e visiting professor presso la Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze Sociali.

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