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The Italian "employment-rich" recovery: a closer look

Author

Listed:
  • Giulia Bovini

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Eliana Viviano

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

We look at changes in employment in Italy after the double-dip recession. We show that since the end of 2014 the responsiveness to GDP of total employment and its payroll components (permanent and fixed-term) has risen significantly; the increase has been broad-based across sectors and it would have been larger if demographic factors had been netted out. These developments are not common to France, Spain and Germany. Therefore, we turn to Italy-specific determinants related to the recent labour market reforms. Using cell-level data drawn from the Comunicazioni Obbligatorie of the Veneto region, we find that gross permanent hires and conversions of fixed-term positions have temporarily, but significantly, benefited from the 2015-2016 hiring subsidies across all types of firms and, more smoothly, from the new regulation of dismissals introduced by the 2015 Jobs Act for medium-large firms. This latter result is clear in 2017, in the absence of subsidies to permanent hiring. Fixed-term employment has increased, likely favoured by the 2014 Poletti Decree, more strongly so when permanent hiring subsidies were lifted or weakened and among smaller firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulia Bovini & Eliana Viviano, 2018. "The Italian "employment-rich" recovery: a closer look," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 461, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_461_18
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Franecsca Carta, 2019. "Timely indicators for labour income inequality," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 503, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
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    3. Francesca Carta, 2020. "Timely Indicators for Inequality and Poverty Using the Italian Labour Force Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 41-65, May.
    4. Edoardo Di Porto & Cristina Tealdi, 2022. "Heterogeneous Paths to Stability," CSEF Working Papers 644, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.

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    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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