Italy

The economy continues to recover, unemployment and nonperforming loans have declined somewhat from their crisis peaks, and public debt appears to be stabilizing. Growth remains moderate, however, despite exceptional monetary accommodation and fiscal easing, and Italy continues to underperform its euro area peers, owing to persistent structural weaknesses, imbalances, and financial fragilities. Thin policy buffers leave the economy exposed, including to the start of withdrawal of monetary accommodation. Meanwhile, real disposable incomes per capita have fallen below pre-euro accession levels and the distribution of the burden of adjustment has been uneven, potentially contributing to public discontent.