The resurgence of rapid inflation has rekindled theoretical and empirical debates regarding citizens’ preferences for anti-inflation policies and the broader political consequences of inflation. While earlier studies, primarily conducted during periods of low inflation, emphasized inflation aversion among asset holders and its association with age, political conservatism, and income, these findings require reevaluation in light of the recent inflation surge across advanced democracies. This study examines public attitudes toward inflation-related policies using Italy as a case study—a country that experienced significant inflation from 2021 to 2024. Leveraging observational and experimental survey data, we investigate: (i) how individuals perceive and experience inflation; (ii) support for policies with inflationary or disinflationary consequences; and (iii) the causal effects of policy framing on public support.
Our analysis encompasses a diverse set of policies, including those theorized to increase inflation (e.g., increased social spending, stricter labor protections, reform of ECB independence, and military aid to Ukraine) and those theorized to reduce it (e.g., price controls, wage caps, interest rate hikes, and reduced inter-regional transfers). By using an experimenta setting, we show that the preferecens for policies with (dis-)inflationary consequences exploring changs whem these consequences are made present to voters. This study contributes to the broader literature by reassessing outdated theoretical claims and offering rigorous causal evidence on how framing policy trade-offs influences support for inflation-related measures. Our findings have implications for understanding the political dynamics of inflation and policy preferences in other OECD contexts experiencing similar economic pressures.