No. 400 - Is the Italian Labour Market Segmented?

This paper evaluates the existence of segmentation in Italy along the lines of the dual labour market theory, serving as a possible contribution to the present debate about increasing poverty and source strategies to counter it. I show that even workers belonging to traditionally strong groups – male breadwinners in the central age-groups – may be confined to the secondary segment of the labour market because of rationing or other barriers to entry the primary segment. For the most part they are poorly educated blue-collar workers in industry, construction and retail sales. For them, return to education is almost nil and wages do not rise much with experience, so measures to increase workers’ human capital may not be effective in reducing poverty; direct income support to the poor might prove a better policy.