Social Policies
#25Key Findings
With concerns evident in several areas, Italy falls into the lower-middle ranks (rank 25) in the area of social policies. Its score on this measure has improved by 0.7 points relative to 2014.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some weaknesses in the healthcare system, including an overreliance on large hospitals with insufficient local services. The north of the country proved far better able to cope with online learning than the south. Considerable new resources are being devoted to education, and a new recruitment and career system for teachers is being developed.
The pandemic expanded the gap between the better-protected sector of the population and the rest. Poverty is a particular problem for young families with children. A basic minimum income program, conditional upon acceptance of a job proposed by an employment center, has reduced poverty. A new child support payment has filled in gaps left by this measure.
Family members very often provide critical services such as care for preschool age children. Public daycare facilities are limited. Workforce-participation rates among women are low but rising, but the birth rate has continued to decline. The Draghi government expanded immigration quotes, and took a more flexible attitude toward illegal immigrants reaching Italy.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some weaknesses in the healthcare system, including an overreliance on large hospitals with insufficient local services. The north of the country proved far better able to cope with online learning than the south. Considerable new resources are being devoted to education, and a new recruitment and career system for teachers is being developed.
The pandemic expanded the gap between the better-protected sector of the population and the rest. Poverty is a particular problem for young families with children. A basic minimum income program, conditional upon acceptance of a job proposed by an employment center, has reduced poverty. A new child support payment has filled in gaps left by this measure.
Family members very often provide critical services such as care for preschool age children. Public daycare facilities are limited. Workforce-participation rates among women are low but rising, but the birth rate has continued to decline. The Draghi government expanded immigration quotes, and took a more flexible attitude toward illegal immigrants reaching Italy.
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To what extent does education policy deliver high-quality, equitable and efficient education and training?
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Education policy fully achieves the criteria.
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7
6
Education policy largely achieves the criteria.
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3
4
3
Education policy partially achieves the criteria.
2
1
1
Education policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
The Italian education system is a predominantly public system headed at the national level by the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). MIUR dominates education policy, including hiring and funding. Regional and municipal school authorities have some power with respect to the curricula, physical infrastructure and resource management. Private education in Italy is limited and consists primarily of religious schools. Italy also has a handful of private universities with a prestigious reputation (e.g., Bocconi, LUISS, Cattolica). The education system is, in principle, open to everybody without discrimination. Tuition fees are excised only at the tertiary level and are comparatively low. However, given the scarce amount of resources allocated for scholarships or similar support mechanisms for financially needy students, access is socially discriminatory at the upper secondary and tertiary levels. The share of individuals who do not complete their studies is above the OECD average.
Per student spending at all levels of education is close to the OECD average, but due to the smaller percentage of students, the global expenditure as a share of GDP is significantly lower than the OECD average. Moreover, the level of expenditure has been almost flat for the past 10 years. When education expenditure is measured as a percentage of total public expenditure, Italy shows one of the lowest rates among OECD countries.
The ability of the education system to provide an adequate number of skilled workers, particularly in specialized fields, is insufficient – a situation that is often lamented by private firms.
In terms of tertiary education spending, Italy lags behind even more significantly. The share of education expenditure allocated to the salaries of teachers, professors and technical staff compared to the share for capital expenditures and research funds, is above average. This is not because salaries are particularly high, but because capital and research funds are very limited. Selection of school personnel is still not sufficiently meritocratic. Although there are significant areas of high-quality education at both the secondary and tertiary levels, overall quality could be improved. The number of university graduates is comparatively low and growing very slowly.
The allocation of public resources to universities has increasingly incorporated a mechanism linking government funding to academic research and teaching results. This has had significant effects with regard to stimulating a more competitive and quality-oriented university system.
During the pandemic emergency, the education system has been put under severe stress and regional differences in coping with it have clearly emerged. Southern regions proved much less effective in providing distance learning when needed and school abandonment levels have been higher than average (Openpolis).
The Draghi government is now directing more resources to the education system thanks to Next Generation EU funds. Overall, €31.9 billion in investment has been pledged to improve all educational sectors (starting from kindergarten). Furthermore, various reforms should be approved in 2022, including a new recruitment and career system for schoolteachers, while university teaching is likely to be significantly liberalized.
Citations:
on school abandonment: https://www.openpolis.it/perche-sullabbandono-scolastico-resta-ancora-molto-da-fare/ (accessed 5 January 2022)
Per student spending at all levels of education is close to the OECD average, but due to the smaller percentage of students, the global expenditure as a share of GDP is significantly lower than the OECD average. Moreover, the level of expenditure has been almost flat for the past 10 years. When education expenditure is measured as a percentage of total public expenditure, Italy shows one of the lowest rates among OECD countries.
The ability of the education system to provide an adequate number of skilled workers, particularly in specialized fields, is insufficient – a situation that is often lamented by private firms.
In terms of tertiary education spending, Italy lags behind even more significantly. The share of education expenditure allocated to the salaries of teachers, professors and technical staff compared to the share for capital expenditures and research funds, is above average. This is not because salaries are particularly high, but because capital and research funds are very limited. Selection of school personnel is still not sufficiently meritocratic. Although there are significant areas of high-quality education at both the secondary and tertiary levels, overall quality could be improved. The number of university graduates is comparatively low and growing very slowly.
The allocation of public resources to universities has increasingly incorporated a mechanism linking government funding to academic research and teaching results. This has had significant effects with regard to stimulating a more competitive and quality-oriented university system.
During the pandemic emergency, the education system has been put under severe stress and regional differences in coping with it have clearly emerged. Southern regions proved much less effective in providing distance learning when needed and school abandonment levels have been higher than average (Openpolis).
The Draghi government is now directing more resources to the education system thanks to Next Generation EU funds. Overall, €31.9 billion in investment has been pledged to improve all educational sectors (starting from kindergarten). Furthermore, various reforms should be approved in 2022, including a new recruitment and career system for schoolteachers, while university teaching is likely to be significantly liberalized.
Citations:
on school abandonment: https://www.openpolis.it/perche-sullabbandono-scolastico-resta-ancora-molto-da-fare/ (accessed 5 January 2022)
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To what extent does social policy prevent exclusion and decoupling from society?
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Policies very effectively enable societal inclusion and ensure equal opportunities.
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7
6
For the most part, policies enable societal inclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
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3
For the most part, policies fail to prevent societal exclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
2
1
1
Policies exacerbate unequal opportunities and exclusion from society.
The impact of the pandemic-induced economic crisis on the incomes of a significant percentage of households and the high levels of unemployment – particularly among young people and women – has had a substantial negative effect on social inclusion. The gap between the more protected sectors of the population and the less protected ones has grown.
The traditional instruments of social protection (e.g., those guaranteeing unemployment benefits for workers with permanent labor contracts) do not cover a large part of the newly impoverished population. In general, allowances for families with children are rather small, and do not compensate for the costs of raising a (large) family. The problem of poverty is thus particularly serious for young families with children, especially where only one adult is employed. Some of the pensions of the elderly are also extremely low.
The progressive tax system and a series of deductions and benefits for low-income individuals – which should have accomplished redistributive functions – only partially to work in this direction (ISTAT 2021). The system’s redistributive efforts have been curtailed by the rise in tax rates and the erosion of benefits and deductions.
An initial policy response to this situation was the citizens’ income (“reddito di Cittadinanza,” RdC), which was introduced in 2019 by the first Conte government. This instrument replaced a range of previously uncoordinated measures with a (variable) income to every person under a given economic threshold. For people able to work, the allowance is conditional upon the acceptance of a job proposed by an employment center. As of October 2021, 1,686,416 families and 3,790,744 individuals have received this allowance. Although insufficient to cover all persons in poverty (and less favorable to families with children and foreigners), this measure is a positive step in the direction of more inclusive social policies. The new “assegno unico per i figli” (children’s support), which was approved under the current Draghi government, compensates somewhat for the shortcomings of the RdC.
Cross-regional differences continue to exist. On average, local social programs in the north of the country can deliver benefits three times higher than those in the south.
Italian family networks still constitute the most important, though informal, instrument of social welfare. The high percentage of home ownership helps protect many Italians from absolute poverty. Housing problems, which would be insurmountable for many young people, are to some extent mitigated by family rather than public support.
The rate of inclusion of women in positions of economic and political leadership has improved somewhat due to new rules requiring a more balanced representation of women in executive positions. Italy also performs better than the OECD average with regard to gender gaps in income (OECD 2019).
Citations:
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
on critical aspects of the RdC see: https://www.lavoro.gov.it/priorita/Documents/Relazione-valutazione-RdC-final.pdf (accessed 2 January 2022).
The traditional instruments of social protection (e.g., those guaranteeing unemployment benefits for workers with permanent labor contracts) do not cover a large part of the newly impoverished population. In general, allowances for families with children are rather small, and do not compensate for the costs of raising a (large) family. The problem of poverty is thus particularly serious for young families with children, especially where only one adult is employed. Some of the pensions of the elderly are also extremely low.
The progressive tax system and a series of deductions and benefits for low-income individuals – which should have accomplished redistributive functions – only partially to work in this direction (ISTAT 2021). The system’s redistributive efforts have been curtailed by the rise in tax rates and the erosion of benefits and deductions.
An initial policy response to this situation was the citizens’ income (“reddito di Cittadinanza,” RdC), which was introduced in 2019 by the first Conte government. This instrument replaced a range of previously uncoordinated measures with a (variable) income to every person under a given economic threshold. For people able to work, the allowance is conditional upon the acceptance of a job proposed by an employment center. As of October 2021, 1,686,416 families and 3,790,744 individuals have received this allowance. Although insufficient to cover all persons in poverty (and less favorable to families with children and foreigners), this measure is a positive step in the direction of more inclusive social policies. The new “assegno unico per i figli” (children’s support), which was approved under the current Draghi government, compensates somewhat for the shortcomings of the RdC.
Cross-regional differences continue to exist. On average, local social programs in the north of the country can deliver benefits three times higher than those in the south.
Italian family networks still constitute the most important, though informal, instrument of social welfare. The high percentage of home ownership helps protect many Italians from absolute poverty. Housing problems, which would be insurmountable for many young people, are to some extent mitigated by family rather than public support.
The rate of inclusion of women in positions of economic and political leadership has improved somewhat due to new rules requiring a more balanced representation of women in executive positions. Italy also performs better than the OECD average with regard to gender gaps in income (OECD 2019).
Citations:
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm
on critical aspects of the RdC see: https://www.lavoro.gov.it/priorita/Documents/Relazione-valutazione-RdC-final.pdf (accessed 2 January 2022).
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To what extent do health care policies provide high-quality, inclusive and cost-efficient health care?
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9
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Health care policy achieves the criteria fully.
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7
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7
6
Health care policy achieves the criteria largely.
5
4
3
4
3
Health care policy achieves the criteria partly.
2
1
1
Health care policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
Italy’s national health system provides universal comprehensive coverage for the entire population. The healthcare system is primarily funded by central government, though healthcare services and spending are administered by regional authorities, which are highly autonomous with respect to designing their own organizational system. On average, the services provided achieve medium to high standards of quality. A 2000 WHO report ranked the Italian healthcare system second in the world and a recent Bloomberg analysis also ranked the Italian system among the most efficient in the world. A 2017 study published by Lancet rated the Italian system among the best in terms of access to and quality of healthcare. However, due to differences in local infrastructures, cultural factors, and the political and managerial proficiency of local administrations, the quality of public healthcare varies significantly across regions. In spite of similar levels of per capita expenditure, services are generally better in northern and central Italy than in southern Italy. In some areas of the south, corruption, clientelism and administrative inefficiency have driven up healthcare costs. In these regions, lower quality levels and typically longer waiting lists mean that wealthier individuals will often turn to private sector medical care. Regional disparities also lead to a significant amount of health tourism heading north. The existing system of national quality standards (correlated with resources), which is meant to be implemented across regions, has not yet produced the desired effect of reducing the quality divide between the north and south.
To contain further increases in healthcare costs, payments to access tests, treatments and drugs exist. Although these payments are tied to income levels, they nevertheless discourage a significant number of the poorest residents from accessing necessary healthcare services. Similarly, additional medical services are only partially covered by the public healthcare system, while only basic dental healthcare is covered.
Preventive healthcare programs are effective and well publicized in some regions (especially in Tuscany, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, and other northern and central regions), but are much weaker and less accessible to the average healthcare user in other regions (e.g., Calabria and Sicily).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some weaknesses in the healthcare system emerged. It became clear that in some regions (especially in Lombardia, Piemonte and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and in most southern regions) the organizational delivery of healthcare was too heavily centered on large, high-quality hospitals, while proximity assistance delivered by family doctors and local hospitals was insufficient.
Citations:
http://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/
http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst/most-efficient-health-care-2014-countries
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30818-8/fulltext
To contain further increases in healthcare costs, payments to access tests, treatments and drugs exist. Although these payments are tied to income levels, they nevertheless discourage a significant number of the poorest residents from accessing necessary healthcare services. Similarly, additional medical services are only partially covered by the public healthcare system, while only basic dental healthcare is covered.
Preventive healthcare programs are effective and well publicized in some regions (especially in Tuscany, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, and other northern and central regions), but are much weaker and less accessible to the average healthcare user in other regions (e.g., Calabria and Sicily).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some weaknesses in the healthcare system emerged. It became clear that in some regions (especially in Lombardia, Piemonte and Friuli Venezia Giulia, and in most southern regions) the organizational delivery of healthcare was too heavily centered on large, high-quality hospitals, while proximity assistance delivered by family doctors and local hospitals was insufficient.
Citations:
http://www.who.int/whr/2000/en/
http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst/most-efficient-health-care-2014-countries
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30818-8/fulltext
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To what extent do family support policies enable women to combine parenting with participation in the labor market?
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Family support policies effectively enable women to combine parenting with employment.
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Family support policies provide some support for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
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3
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Family support policies provide only few opportunities for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
2
1
1
Family support policies force most women to opt for either parenting or employment.
Italian society has traditionally relied very much upon its very strong family institutions. The family (often in its extended version) remains even today a major provider of welfare for its weakest components – children, young couples with precarious jobs and elders. Within the family, significant amounts of economic redistribution take place, and important services are provided, such as the care of preschool age children by grandparents. Partly because of this reliance, state support for families has generally been weak. Apart from relatively generous rules on maternity leave (paid for by social insurance) and limited tax deductions for children, the state has not offered much. Public daycare facilities for preschool children are available on a limited scale and vary significantly across regions. Private firms and public offices have only recently started offering similar services, with some support from the state.
The lack of more significant policies has contributed to the limited (albeit slowly growing) participation of women in the workforce and the low overall employment rate, while also contributing to a very low birth rate, which continues to decline.
New and innovative Scandinavian-style concepts (e.g., parental leave) that go beyond maternity allowance are not widely implemented. The whole childcare sector, and indeed the state of the public debate over the ability of women to combine work and children, lags behind that in wealthier and more progressive European countries. The decreasing transfers of financial resources to regions and municipalities during previous governments mean that many institutions and projects working in family support have run out of money and may have to cut back services significantly.
However, the new citizen’s income can to some extent provide help for needy families even if it is not specially tailored for them. Under the second Conte government, the “Assegno Unico per i figli” project (a single, unified allowance for children) was launched. The project, which was finalized under the Draghi government, will provide an allowance for every child from birth to the age of 21.
Citations:
https://www.redditodicittadinanza.gov.it/ (accessed 2 January 2022)
https://www.inps.it/prestazioni-servizi/assegno-unico-e-universale-per-i-figli-a-carico (accessed 2 January 2022)
The lack of more significant policies has contributed to the limited (albeit slowly growing) participation of women in the workforce and the low overall employment rate, while also contributing to a very low birth rate, which continues to decline.
New and innovative Scandinavian-style concepts (e.g., parental leave) that go beyond maternity allowance are not widely implemented. The whole childcare sector, and indeed the state of the public debate over the ability of women to combine work and children, lags behind that in wealthier and more progressive European countries. The decreasing transfers of financial resources to regions and municipalities during previous governments mean that many institutions and projects working in family support have run out of money and may have to cut back services significantly.
However, the new citizen’s income can to some extent provide help for needy families even if it is not specially tailored for them. Under the second Conte government, the “Assegno Unico per i figli” project (a single, unified allowance for children) was launched. The project, which was finalized under the Draghi government, will provide an allowance for every child from birth to the age of 21.
Citations:
https://www.redditodicittadinanza.gov.it/ (accessed 2 January 2022)
https://www.inps.it/prestazioni-servizi/assegno-unico-e-universale-per-i-figli-a-carico (accessed 2 January 2022)
Graph View
To what extent does pension policy realize goals of poverty prevention, intergenerational equity and fiscal sustainability?
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Pension policy achieves the objectives fully.
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7
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Pension policy achieves the objectives largely.
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3
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3
Pension policy achieves the objectives partly.
2
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1
Pension policy does not achieve the objectives at all.
With the 2011 Fornero reform of Italy’s pension policy, which increased the retirement age to 67 years, reduced benefit levels for higher income groups and linked the age of retirement to rising life expectancies, the pension system achieved a satisfactory level of sustainability. Thanks to this reform, no further major reforms of the retirement system would have been needed, at least in the next few years, to ensure its sustainability – despite the demographic imbalance between the aged and the young.
The current situation, however, is less positive from the point of view of intergenerational fairness, as the younger generations will receive significantly smaller amounts upon retirement. This problem is exacerbated by the late or uncertain entry into the labor force of younger cohorts, which is a structural problem of the Italian labor market and was aggravated by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the large number of permanently unemployed people (particularly, women) also face receiving little to nothing in terms of a pension.
The problem of poverty prevention, which exists today for an already significant share of the population, will be even more relevant for today’s younger cohorts when they reach retirement age.
Supplementary pension schemes have to date played only a limited role in the pension system and fiscal policies adopted to encourage them have not been sufficiently bold. Recent data suggests, however, that the importance of supplementary pension schemes is gradually increasing.
The Draghi government has limited the effects of the so-called Quota 100 (changed in quota “102”) reform introduced by the first Conte government in 2019, which allowed some exceptions to the Fornero reform and enabled some people to retire early. It has also promised to deepen the overhaul of the existing system and introduce greater flexibility provided it would not damage the sustainability of the system.
The current situation, however, is less positive from the point of view of intergenerational fairness, as the younger generations will receive significantly smaller amounts upon retirement. This problem is exacerbated by the late or uncertain entry into the labor force of younger cohorts, which is a structural problem of the Italian labor market and was aggravated by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the large number of permanently unemployed people (particularly, women) also face receiving little to nothing in terms of a pension.
The problem of poverty prevention, which exists today for an already significant share of the population, will be even more relevant for today’s younger cohorts when they reach retirement age.
Supplementary pension schemes have to date played only a limited role in the pension system and fiscal policies adopted to encourage them have not been sufficiently bold. Recent data suggests, however, that the importance of supplementary pension schemes is gradually increasing.
The Draghi government has limited the effects of the so-called Quota 100 (changed in quota “102”) reform introduced by the first Conte government in 2019, which allowed some exceptions to the Fornero reform and enabled some people to retire early. It has also promised to deepen the overhaul of the existing system and introduce greater flexibility provided it would not damage the sustainability of the system.
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How effectively do policies support the integration of migrants into society?
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Cultural, education and social policies effectively support the integration of migrants into society.
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Cultural, education and social policies seek to integrate migrants into society, but have failed to do so effectively.
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Cultural, education and social policies do not focus on integrating migrants into society.
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Cultural, education and social policies segregate migrant communities from the majority society.
Large-scale immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in Italy compared to other countries in Europe. In recent years, the number of legal (mainly from new EU member countries) and illegal immigrants has increased significantly, making immigration one of the hottest political issues. Issues associated with immigration have been cast in negative or even xenophobic rhetoric by some parties (especially by Salvini’s League) during electoral campaigns, with immigrants portrayed as dangerous social elements.
Policies dealing with the topic have concentrated more on controlling illegal immigration and temporarily hosting refugees than on integration. Past provisions for the large-scale regularization of immigrants, especially those working for and within families, have not been repeated. As a consequence, a large number of immigrants are still involved in the underground economy, and are thus exposed to economic exploitation, dangerous working conditions and a lack of respect for their rights. In general, it is clear that in some sectors entrepreneurs and families are only able to operate by using the high number of migrants available to work. Agriculture, the building industry, private elderly care services, many childcare services and private cleaning services are dependent on legally or illegally employed immigrants. Access to citizenship for immigrants remains problematic. Discussions on the issue of the “ius soli” (i.e., granting Italian citizenship to children with a migrant background born in Italy) have been tense, and legislative proposals on the matter have ultimately failed to win parliamentary approval.
The school system has proved to be a positive factor in the process of integration, but schools have not received sufficient resources for achieving the best results in this field. Public housing policies have been weakened by the budgetary constraints. As a result, in many cities there are ghetto-like areas where immigrants live in extremely poor housing conditions. The universal healthcare system has in general been fairly effective in providing medical treatments also for immigrants. Charitable organizations, in particular organizations linked to the Catholic Church (e.g., Caritas), have contributed significantly to assisting and integrating migrants.
The efforts of successive Italian governments to promote a common European policy to address the phenomenon of migrations in the Mediterranean and to redistribute migrants have so far been ignored or opposed. The Draghi government has adopted a more flexible attitude toward illegal immigrants reaching Italy and – in view of the labor demands of some important economic sectors – it has significantly expanded the quota of legal immigrants to be admitted in Italy (Decreto flussi).
Citations:
on the decree for immigration quotas see: https://www.lavoroediritti.com/leggi-e-prassi/decreto-flussi-2021-2022-testo (accessed 5 January 2022)
Policies dealing with the topic have concentrated more on controlling illegal immigration and temporarily hosting refugees than on integration. Past provisions for the large-scale regularization of immigrants, especially those working for and within families, have not been repeated. As a consequence, a large number of immigrants are still involved in the underground economy, and are thus exposed to economic exploitation, dangerous working conditions and a lack of respect for their rights. In general, it is clear that in some sectors entrepreneurs and families are only able to operate by using the high number of migrants available to work. Agriculture, the building industry, private elderly care services, many childcare services and private cleaning services are dependent on legally or illegally employed immigrants. Access to citizenship for immigrants remains problematic. Discussions on the issue of the “ius soli” (i.e., granting Italian citizenship to children with a migrant background born in Italy) have been tense, and legislative proposals on the matter have ultimately failed to win parliamentary approval.
The school system has proved to be a positive factor in the process of integration, but schools have not received sufficient resources for achieving the best results in this field. Public housing policies have been weakened by the budgetary constraints. As a result, in many cities there are ghetto-like areas where immigrants live in extremely poor housing conditions. The universal healthcare system has in general been fairly effective in providing medical treatments also for immigrants. Charitable organizations, in particular organizations linked to the Catholic Church (e.g., Caritas), have contributed significantly to assisting and integrating migrants.
The efforts of successive Italian governments to promote a common European policy to address the phenomenon of migrations in the Mediterranean and to redistribute migrants have so far been ignored or opposed. The Draghi government has adopted a more flexible attitude toward illegal immigrants reaching Italy and – in view of the labor demands of some important economic sectors – it has significantly expanded the quota of legal immigrants to be admitted in Italy (Decreto flussi).
Citations:
on the decree for immigration quotas see: https://www.lavoroediritti.com/leggi-e-prassi/decreto-flussi-2021-2022-testo (accessed 5 January 2022)
Graph View
How effectively does internal security policy protect citizens against security risks?
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Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks very effectively.
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Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks more or less effectively.
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Internal security policy does not effectively protect citizens against security risks.
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Internal security policy exacerbates the security risks.
With the exception of some regions of southern Italy where mafia-type organized crime can have a serious impact on the security of certain sectors of the population (for instance entrepreneurs and shop owners) internal security is sufficiently guaranteed. Homicide rates have generally declined, and are today among the lowest in Europe. According to official statistics, the same applies to crimes such as thefts and robberies (ISTAT). In spite of this, feelings of insecurity are significant, particularly in some city peripheries.
The public has a moderately high level of confidence in the security forces. However, the segmentation of security forces (Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato, Guardia di Finanza, Polizia Municipale) might result in some inefficiencies and accountability issues. Italian security agencies have to date been fairly successful in preventing terrorist attacks.
Citations:
ISTAT official crime statistics: http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DCCV_DELITTIPS (accessed 5 January 2022)
The public has a moderately high level of confidence in the security forces. However, the segmentation of security forces (Carabinieri, Polizia di Stato, Guardia di Finanza, Polizia Municipale) might result in some inefficiencies and accountability issues. Italian security agencies have to date been fairly successful in preventing terrorist attacks.
Citations:
ISTAT official crime statistics: http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DCCV_DELITTIPS (accessed 5 January 2022)
Graph View
To what extent does the government demonstrate an active and coherent commitment to promoting equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries?
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The government actively and coherently engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. It frequently demonstrates initiative and responsibility, and acts as an agenda-setter.
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6
The government actively engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. However, some of its measures or policies lack coherence.
5
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3
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3
The government shows limited engagement in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. Many of its measures or policies lack coherence.
2
1
1
The government does not contribute (and often undermines) efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries.
The Italian government’s engagement in promoting socioeconomic opportunities internationally has generally been rather limited. Over the years, Italy has provided less in international aid than most other European countries.
The amount of help provided to developing countries is expected to rise in 2021 after three years of decline. However, at 0.24% of GNI, it will remain well behind the 0.3% level of 2017 (OECD and Donortracker 2021).
On a more qualitative and organizational level, Italy has generally stressed the importance of fighting hunger, and developing food production and distribution. Probably because of this activism, Italy hosts three major UN food agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Program (WFP).
During the COVID-19 crisis of the last two years, Italian governments have given strong support to the European vaccine donation initiative to poorer countries (COVAX).
Seeking to address the rapid increase in immigration across the Mediterranean, along with the humanitarian catastrophes produced by this increase, the Italian government has proposed an EU “migration compact,” which would expand long-term EU help to African countries and develop bilateral agreements for the regulation of migration.
Citations:
most recent data on international help:https://donortracker.org/country/italy (accessed 5 January 2022); https://data.oecd.org/oda/net-oda.htm (accessed 5 January 2022)
The amount of help provided to developing countries is expected to rise in 2021 after three years of decline. However, at 0.24% of GNI, it will remain well behind the 0.3% level of 2017 (OECD and Donortracker 2021).
On a more qualitative and organizational level, Italy has generally stressed the importance of fighting hunger, and developing food production and distribution. Probably because of this activism, Italy hosts three major UN food agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Program (WFP).
During the COVID-19 crisis of the last two years, Italian governments have given strong support to the European vaccine donation initiative to poorer countries (COVAX).
Seeking to address the rapid increase in immigration across the Mediterranean, along with the humanitarian catastrophes produced by this increase, the Italian government has proposed an EU “migration compact,” which would expand long-term EU help to African countries and develop bilateral agreements for the regulation of migration.
Citations:
most recent data on international help:https://donortracker.org/country/italy (accessed 5 January 2022); https://data.oecd.org/oda/net-oda.htm (accessed 5 January 2022)