La povertà in Italia e in Europa : estensione, caratteristiche e nuove tendenze

Poverty in Italy and Europe: the phenomenon, its characteristics and new trends
Using Istat and Eurostat data, the paper analyzes, first of all, the incidence of poverty in Italy and in European Union in recent years, focussing also on child poverty. The data show that in Italy, both general poverty and child poverty reach very high level, even though differences between the North and the South are sharp. The main family characteristics responsible for a higher risk of poverty are also reviewed, among with the number of family members, especially if they include children or elderly, is prominent. In the last part of work, an econometric test is performed to reach the conclusion that the chances for young graduates to avoid poverty after 2 or 3 years from the degree have significantly increased in the last decade in Italy. This seems particularly worrying in the light of the importance usually attached to human capital as an anti-poverty policy.