Taxes, talent, and inequality: Distributional effects of high-skilled migration incentives in Italy | Giovanni Gallo (UNIMORE)

24 June 2026 | 12:00 — 13:00

Hybrid/Mixed

FBK-IRVAPP is pleased to invite you to the following seminar: Taxes, talent, and inequality: Distributional effects of high-skilled migration incentives in Italy.

With the participation of Giovanni Gallo (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia)

Abstract

This paper examines the distributional effects of tax incentives aimed at attracting high-skilled foreigners and returning expatriates to Italy. While a large literature shows that high-skilled migration is responsive to taxation, much less is known about how preferential tax schemes affect income inequality, tax progressivity, and horizontal equity. We address this gap by evaluating the Italian preferential tax regime over the period 2016–2022. Using EU-SILC microdata, administrative tabulations from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and official migration statistics, we build a static tax-benefit microsimulation framework to estimate counterfactual income distributions in the absence of the policy. We assess the impact of the scheme on a broad set of pre- and post-tax inequality measures, including the Gini coefficient, Generalized Entropy indices, top income shares, and percentile ratios. Our analysis provides new evidence on the trade-off between efficiency and equity in tax policies designed to attract mobile talent.

The seminar is held in English.

Speakers

Giovanni Gallo - Guest Speaker

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Giovanni Gallo is Associate Professor of Public Economics at the Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He is a Global Labour Organization (GLO) fellow and member of the Modena's Centre for the Analysis of Public Policy (CAPP). He previously held research positions at Sapienza University of Rome and the National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (INAPP). He earned his PhD in 2018 and was a visiting scholar at Tilburg University and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research. His research focuses on social policy evaluation, welfare systems, poverty, and inequality. He has edited four books and published in various national and international journals.

Registration

Registration to this event is mandatory.

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