User:Nemilio14/sandbox

The rate of growth in social spending in Italy varied in the last few decades of the twentieth century. For the years 1970-1980, the average rate of growth was 4.1 percent. This increased to 4.4 percent for the years 1980-1990 and then decreased significantly to an average of 1.9 percent for the period 1990-2000. Decreased growth rates in the latter period occur amidst a wave of welfare state reforms in the "southern European" states. In Italy, reforms targeted inequities in pension programs that favored specific segments of the population. This was accomplished through multiple rounds of pension reform in the 1990's. Reforms not aimed at pensions sought to extend social insurance to a broader portion of the Italian population and included the extension of some social services and means-tested programs for poor households.