Thesis title: La partecipazione degli stranieri al mercato del lavoro italiano: le abilità, la specializzazione nelle attività ed i salari
Immigration has represented one of the most significant social transformations in Italy in recent decades, contributing to a growing demographic and cultural diversification. In this context, the labour market constitutes a privileged area for analysing integration processes and the inequalities that characterise the economic participation of foreigners. This thesis examines the employment dynamics of the immigrant population in Italy, with particular attention to the differences between native and foreign workers in terms of skills, competences, professional activities and wage determinants.
The analysis, based on the database created by combining information from the Labour Force Survey (ISTAT) and the Sample Survey on Occupations (ISTAT and INAPP), is divided into three chapters. The innovation of this dataset lies in its multidimensional approach, which integrates socio-demographic characteristics of workers with the specificities of occupations (communicative, manual and quantitative activities), overcoming the limitations of individual sources and offering a more complete view of the Italian labour market.
The first chapter explores the evolution of the foreign population in Italy and its impact on the labour market, highlighting demographic and employment trends through demographic tools such as Lexis surfaces and Age-Period-Cohort models. The results show that foreigners tend to occupy more vulnerable segments of the labour market, characterised by instability and greater exposure to economic crises. The innovation of this study lies in the application of the Lexis surfaces and the
Age-Period-Cohort models, tools traditionally used in demography, to the analysis of the Italian labour market. This approach offers a novel perspective, expanding the use of these methods in the study of economic and social phenomena.
The second chapter analyses the content of occupations through two methods (Peri, Sparber, 2009; Autor, Levy, Murnane, 2003) for the construction of composite indicators. The evidence confirms the specialisation of foreign workers in predominantly manual occupations, whereas Italians, regardless of their level of education, tend to occupy positions with more communicative and quantitative content. This suggests a pattern of complementarity, highlighting the existence of a diversification of work activities, rather than direct competition between Italians and foreigners. The analyses confirm and deepen the hypothesis, already advanced since the 1980s, on the role of foreign labour in the Italian labour market. Thanks to detailed data on the tasks performed, the results strengthen the empirical evidence on the persistence of this dynamic, offering a significant contribution to the understanding of the employment conditions of foreigners in Italy.
The third chapter delves into the determinants of the wage gap between Italians and foreigners, applying statistical-econometric models including multiple linear regression, quantile regression and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. The innovation of this analysis lies in the application of the decomposition with original indicators (realised in the previous chapter) that classify jobs according to their communicative, manual or quantitative content. This approach made it possible to refine the wage gap analysis, highlighting how the better-paid communication occupations are predominantly occupied by Italians, while the concentration of foreigners in micro enterprises contributes to the wage gap. In addition, the unexplained component of the wage gap suggests the impact of language barriers and the lower valuation of foreigners' skills, with an unexpected result: a high school diploma seems to give them an economic advantage over Italians.
Overall, the research highlights how the segmentation of the Italian labour market penalises foreign workers, limiting their opportunities for professional and wage mobility. The economic integration of immigrants represents a crucial challenge for the country's social cohesion and growth, requiring targeted policies for the recognition of skills, the reduction of linguistic and cultural barriers and the promotion of fair access to the labour market.