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Did Italy Need More Labour Flexibility?

Author

Listed:
  • Marta Fana

    (Science Po)

  • Dario Guarascio

    (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)

  • Valeria Cirillo

    (Sapienza University of Rome)

Abstract

The dramatic impact of the 2008 crisis on the Italian economy led to policy responses including structural reforms and labour market liberalisation to reverse the worrisome output and employment trends. A key action by the Italian government, the evocatively named Jobs Act of 2014, has deeply changed Italian industrial relations. The Jobs Act has introduced a new contract type that substantially limits workers’ rights to reinstatement in case of fi rms invalidly fi ring them. This article frames the Jobs Act within the overall liberalisation process begun in Italy in the 1990s, providing an initial evaluation of its impacts. Using detailed data sources, we show that the expected boost in employment cannot be detected, the share of temporary contracts over open-ended ones has increased and the number of part-time contracts has risen. This evidence suggests that the Jobs Act is failing to achieve its main goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Marta Fana & Dario Guarascio & Valeria Cirillo, 2016. "Did Italy Need More Labour Flexibility?," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 51(2), pages 79-86, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intere:v:51:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s10272-016-0581-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10272-016-0581-3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Josué Diwambuena & Raquel Fonseca & Stefan Schubert, 2021. "Italian Labour Frictions and Wage Rigidities in an Estimated DSGE," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS88, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    2. Damion Jonathan Bunders & Agnes Akkerman, 2023. "Commitment issues? Analysing the effect of preference deviation and social embeddedness on member commitment to worker cooperatives in the gig economy," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(4), pages 1007-1026, November.
    3. A. Cetrulo & A. Sbardella & M. E. Virgillito, 2023. "Vanishing social classes? Facts and figures of the Italian labour market," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 97-148, January.
    4. Camille Signoretto & Julie Valentin, 2019. "Individual dismissals for personal and economic reasons in French firms: One or two models?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 241-265, October.
    5. Andrea Bendinelli, 2017. "Incentivi al lavoro permanente e contratto a tutele crescenti: un approccio controfattuale alla stima dell’impatto sulle assunzioni a tempo indeterminato nel 2015 (Bonuses to Permanent Employment an," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 70(277), pages 59-92.
    6. Krahé, Max, 2023. "Understanding Italy's stagnation," Papers 277913, Dezernat Zukunft - Institute for Macrofinance, Berlin.
    7. Chiara Natalie Focacci, 2020. "“You reap what you sow”: Do active labour market policies always increase job security? Evidence from the Youth Guarantee," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 373-429, June.
    8. Krahé, Max, 2023. "Italiens Stagnation verstehen," Papers 277907, Dezernat Zukunft - Institute for Macrofinance, Berlin.
    9. Calcagnini, Giorgio & Marin, Giovanni & Perugini, Francesco, 2021. "Labour flexibility, internal migration and productivity in Italian regions," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 308-320.
    10. Servaas Storm, 2019. "Lost in deflation: Why Italy`s woes are a warning to the whole Eurozone," Working Papers Series 94, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    11. Dario Guarascio & Annamaria Simonazzi, 2016. "A polarized country in a polarized Europe: an industrial policy for Italy’s renaissance," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 43(3), pages 315-322, September.

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