###ITALIANS 'IN FUGA' - Italians are..........>

ITALY: ###ITALIANS 'IN FUGA'

- Italians are fleeing abroad at a faster pace according to an article in

IlSole24Ore. The paper writes that there are almost 5 million Italians living

abroad according to the registration figures provided by Aire, as of 1 January

2017. In 2006 there were just over 3 million and this size of migration will

have large economic impact unless immigration can substitute for the loss of

young, educated Italians. The UK is the most popular destination. 

- Although not in the newspaper report, Italy also suffers from a lower than

average birth rate and so the net migration abroad (mostly by younger people)

will have knock-on implications for the pace of trend growth (workforce growth

times productivity growth). In turn, this impacts the tax base and and the

dependency ratio (those 65 years or older as a percentage of 18-64 year olds). 

- Italy made massive inroads to tackling its State pension problems with the

Ciampi and Amato reforms of 1992 and 1995. However, little has been done since

and the way the politics looks today, hopes of structural reforms in the near

future are slim.