Introduction

This chapter introduces the essays in the volume starting with analysing the situation of the Italian labour market in terms of the diffusion of non standard work. Together with an analysis of its diffusion the essay discusses the characteristics of workers who are more likely to be in non standard employment outlining the particularly weak situation of youth and women in the Italian labour market. The essay takes also into account the deterioration of non-standard work condition in the crisis and how this has taken place in Italy to a deep extent than in other European countries. The costs of being in a non standard position and the quality of the jobs that can be considered as non standard are analysed with reference to the literature and the essays in the volume. The impact of non standard work on firm's competitiveness is also outlined. The orientation towards wage moderation and the joint flexibilisation of the labour market that took place in Italy in the long term poses issues of sustainability and the risk of tying down the economy to a spiral of low growth. Reducing the dualism and the long-term effects of temporary labour on the working and living conditions of women and young people, insofar as they are more likely to be excluded from the current system of social safety nets because they are more likely to be affected by non-standard working conditions or spells of inactivity, means taking action in a number of directions.