Age and Gender Differences in Italian Workers Mobility

By processing the data obtained by ISTAT from a sample of 73412 households, and applying markovian analysis to the 1997/98 matrix of labour market transitions, this articles studies the provenance and destination of individuals in mobility, the purpose being to verify whether the behaviour observed is socially efficient. This aggregation of the data by sex reveals intermittent labour force participation by the female component of the population. This, it is argued, is Pareto inefficient because it obstructs the optimal allocation of talent in society. This aggregation of the data by age group shows that this situation persists unchanged over time, even that substantial uniformity of behaviour is observed between young women and the female population as a whole. The conclusion is drawn that economic policy measures are necessary in order to alter the gender division of labour in its current form.