The paper provides an analysis of the evolution of public sector employment in Italy over the past ten years. After discussing the main legislative measures that governed hiring and retirement by limiting the turnover rate, I analyze its effects on the observed flows and on the composition of the workforce. Particular attention is paid to the case of universities, where the contraction in employment was greater.
While allowing a reduction in public spending, the introduction of limits on the turnover rate produced a sharp contraction in public employment combined with a significant ageing of the active workforce. The effect was not uniform: the contraction was greater in public universities, ministries and local authorities and, in general, in institutions located in the South, where the impact of the limits on turnover was amplified by the simultaneous introduction of stricter spending control rules.
