Women and Pensions in Italy: Gender Imbalances and the Equalization of Retirement Age.

This paper examines the age at retirement for men and women in Italy. Despite the expansion of women's educational attainments, they still display lower employment rates, are frequently engaged in involuntary part-time jobs and have more fragmented careers. As a consequence, the mean age at which women receive a pension is higher than that of men. Using Labour Force Survey (2006 and 2012), the authors test the hypothesis that women's higher age at retirement is determined by a selection bias towards more educated and work oriented women. A Heckman selection model has been developed. Results show that the main disadvantage is suffered by women with medium and low levels of education who show the highest estimated age at retirement, whereas higher educated women retire on average before men with the same level of education. The authors argue that pension policies, without interventions in the field of work-life balance policies, end up penalizing women with lower levels of education.

Is individual placement and support an "active" labor market policy?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to propose individual placement and support (IPS) as an important component of modern labor market policies and as a paradigm to be considered while drafting and adopting them. BACKGROUND: Modern European labor market policies, termed activation policies, aim to support a personal commitment to seek employment by linking welfare benefits to active engagement in job search. METHOD: In this essay, the authors describe European "activation policies," outline labor market regulations in Italy in the last 3 decades, and analyze core components of IPS in the light of labor policies. FINDINGS: IPS, which provides individual psychological and practical support, has become a highly successful method for helping people with mental disorders to reach competitive employment in Italy. It has been effective in many countries, regardless of local employment conditions and market regulations. Its effectiveness may be greater in places with weaker employment protection legislation and integration efforts and less generous disability benefits, as is the case in Italy. Conclusions and Implications for Policies: Labor market policies should carefully balance financial benefits, integration efforts, and individual support. They should include IPS for people with mental disorders. Modified versions of IPS may also be beneficial to nonpsychiatric unemployed populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).