Abstract

This paper analyses the dynamics and performance of the Italian labour market before and during the crisis using longitudinal 2004-2011 LFS data. To achieve an exhaustive picture of the labour market we propose investigation in two directions: we provide both a descriptive analysis and an econometric investigation by estimating probit models. We find that, at least as far as our analyses go, the labour market in Italy is quite active, and we confirm flaws in the conventional wisdom that the Italian economy is characterised by an inflexible and tight labour market. In terms of performance, some marginal categories (women and young people) suffer not only from the negative effects of the crisis but also from the deeper structural weakness of the Italian economic system.