The richest better protected from inflation by the rise in living standards in 2022, according to INSEE

2023-11-24 16:48:27

Inflation was largely offset by the rise in living standards in 2022. This is what INSEE notes in his study “France, social portrait”, published Thursdaynonetheless noting disparities since it was more than compensated for some, notably the wealthiest Parisians.

With unchanged consumption behavior, inflation represented on average a loss of 1,320 euros per person in 2022, ranging from 780 euros for the poorest 10% to 2,250 euros for the wealthiest 10%. INSEE emphasizes that “nearly 60% of the increase in expenditure comes from food, heating, electricity and fuels”, and that inflation has “systematically” weighed more heavily on people the most modest.

Thus, for the lowest 10%, the increase in heating and electricity expenses represents -1.9% compared to their standard of living, -1.0% for fuel and -1.6% for food, compared respectively to -0.8%, -0.4% and -0.6% for the wealthiest 10%.

Inflation better compensated in cities, especially in Paris

Inflation was, however, “compensated by 90% by the increase in the standard of living” last year, thanks to various measures, some of which are specifically anti-inflation: elimination of the audiovisual license fee, increases in salaries or income from assets. (rent, interest, various capital gains)…

The most modest have benefited the most from social and tax measures, which have allowed the 30% of the least well-off people to compensate on average more than 40% of the loss linked to inflation. Increases in wages and income from assets cushioned nearly 85% of the shock for the wealthiest 10%.

The gap, underlines INSEE, is also marked depending on the place of residence: a little less than 85% of the additional costs linked to inflation were covered on average by the increase in the standard of living for the inhabitants of the municipalities “outside urban unit” (municipality of at least 2,000 inhabitants). This rises to 90% for those in municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants and 100% for those in the Paris metropolitan area.

And these differences become more pronounced when the effects combine. Thus, in municipalities outside urban units, only 75% of new expenses were compensated for the most modest 20%, while in the Paris agglomeration, the wealthiest 10% saw the increase more than compensated on average. , around 120%.