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...

This essay disentangles the inequalities in the take-up of non-standard work by gender as well as the gender differences in its determinants, and the factors conducive to the ‘choice’ of non-standard employment. With reference to part-time employment the estimates confirm the high weight of...

In the past decade, several countries, notably France, Spain and Germany, have experienced a joint increase in female participation and fertility, mainly because of national policies aimed at balancing work and family life. In Italy, by contrast, fertility has remained relatively stable (after a...

Microlevel individual data for Italy from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (Rilevazione Trimestrale delle Forze di Lavoro) are used to undertake a microeconometric analysis of the factors affecting women’s labour force participation. The main research questions are: 1) does the availability...

The focus of this paper is on the analysis of the impact of the crisis on material deprivation in two South European countries: Italy and Spain. The countries chosen have been deeply hit by the economic downturn and the use of the available comparable microdata allows us to detect the most...

Italy and Norway are characterized by different co-residence rates of young adults with youth in Italy being more likely to live in their parents' house much longer than Norwegian youth. This paper aims at analysing the reasons of household's patterns in both countries by looking at cultural,...

The focus of this paper is on the analysis of the impact of the crisis on material deprivation in two South European countries: Italy and Spain. The countries chosen have been deeply hit by the economic downturn and the use of the available comparable microdata allows us to detect the most...

Contrary to consolidated economic theory principles, in Europe (but also in other world regions), austerity policy has been implemented instead of stimulus measures which have proven to be successful in crisis associated with credit crunch and insufficient demand. These policies cannot be only...