Retribuzioni e segmenti deboli nel mercato del lavoro in un’area urbana a elevato sviluppo economico

On the basis of a local household survey carried out in 2002 and in 2006, this paper examines the earnings and job conditions of workers living in the province of Modena, one of the richest areas of Italy. After an analysis of earning changes over the period covered by the two surveys, the paper finds evidence of marked earnings differentials across two dimensions: geographically, between workers living in the city and those living in the suburban area, and between workers with different characteristics, in particular age, gender and place of origin. Finally, the paper explores some subjective indicators of job satisfaction, that turn out to be highly correlated with the quantitative measures of discrimination.