European economic integration and italian labour policies

This book deals with unemployment in Europe in general, and in Italy specifically. Italy constitutes a good benchmark for many European countries, as it shares many characteristics with most European countries. Besides high rates of unemployment, recurring features include strong regional inequalities, highly regulated labour markets, the strong presence of the state in the economy, and others. The book is made up of an introductory chapter, which provides an overview of the prevailing visions on unemployment. Chapter two considers some stylised facts concerning unemployment in Europe and in Italy; a lot of data is made available and many comparisons between European countries are drawn. Chapter three considers the analyses and strategies which have been proposed since the early 1990s by international organisations.The fourth chapter is dedicated to structural labour policies; passive and active policies are considered. Chapter five focuses on two issues: education and training strategies on the one hand, and work organisation and participation on the other hand. The sixth chapter considers structural employment policies. The starting point is the debate on the relationship between growth, technological change and employment. Chapter seven focuses on policies to reform social institutions. Here policies such as citizenship income are considered; the themes considered are the non-profit sector, incentives for the creation of new firms, employability and the reduction of working hours. Chapter eight considers the problems of how to evaluate the effects of the policies which are being implemented, and - should this be needed - their adjustment. The conclusions are divided into two chapters, i.e. chapter nine and ten. Chapter nine concerns specifically the Italian labour market, and focuses on the economic analysis put forward in the Libro Bianco published in October 2001 by the Italian Ministry of Labour. Chapter ten takes as its starting point the need to consider economic policies in the light of structural economic dynamics which is continuously taking place.