Abstract
This essay is an empirical study of the working conditions of people with disability using Italian microdata collected through a survey carried out by ISTAT in 2004. Our analysis is guided by the theoretical framework of the capability approach, allowing us to consider various conversion factors including those associated with different types of disability for explaining the capability of work. Our results are also relevant from a policy point of view, as they focus on a country (Italy) which is considered a flagship model in the international context given its specific legislation in favour of the job placement of disabled people. We find that the impact of disability is different according to the type of disability. Among the other personal and environmental characteristics, age, gender, education and place of residence are significant determinants of being in the labour force.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In their paper, people with disability are those ‘who have a long-term illness (12 months or more) which limits the type or amount of work they can do’ (Jones et al. 2003, p. 10).
- 2.
A detailed analysis on employment quota schemes in different countries is also available in OECD (2003).
- 3.
Published in the Official Journal, n. 109, April 30, 1968.
- 4.
Supplement to the Official Journal, n. 39, February 17, 1992.
- 5.
Supplement to the Official Journal, n. 57, March 23, 1999.
- 6.
People with disability must be registered in a specific unemployment list to benefit from this law and employers can hire by nominative calls (introduced by Law 68/1999) or numerical calls (through a specific ranking). Furthermore, Article 11 introduces the possibility of hiring through special Agreements stipulated with authorized offices, which concern the possibility of apprenticeships and vocational training, longer trial period, reduced working time and part-time contracts, temporary work in social cooperatives, etc.
- 7.
The interviewees could state different types of disability: physical, sensory, intellectual and/or emotional disability.
- 8.
That is with severe movement problems, severe communication difficulties and severe problems in daily functions.
- 9.
This age range is applied throughout the analysis, in order to find more reliable results, especially as far as the education level is concerned. At 25 years old, in fact, students should have finished their studies, even when they have been enrolled at university. With this restriction, the sample is composed of 1,220 people, 51.2 % of men and 48.8 % of women.
- 10.
It is characterized by impaired cognitive functioning and a lack of the skills necessary for daily living.
- 11.
They influence person’s ability to recognize and express fundamental emotions. They are not caused by organic abnormalities of the brain.
- 12.
The real definition of labour force includes employed people and those seeking work. The ILO defines the labour force as the number of working-age people engaged actively in the labour market, either by working or looking for work. As such, the labour force is obtained summing the number of employed and unemployed. In our setting, however, some people state to be housewives, students, retired or in other conditions and, at the same time, they admit they are looking for a job (this group is very small) and thus are included in the labour force. Others state to be in the category of those who are looking for the first or a new job, even if in practice they did not do any active action to find a job in the previous 4 weeks. For this last category, the broader definition of unemployment is applied, relaxing the criterion of being an active job seeker, as suggested by ILO.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15.
Only jumping from secondary school to high school is statistically significant.
References
Abu Habib L (1995) Women and disability don’t mix!: double discrimination and disabled women’s rights. Gend Dev 3(2):49–53
Cullinan J, Gannon B, Lyons S (2011) Estimating the extra cost of living for people with disabilities. Health Econ 20(5):582–599
Gannon B, Brian N (2003) Disability and labour market participation. Papers HRBWP04, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)
ISTAT (2004a) Indagine di ritorno sui disabili. http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/5500
ISTAT (2004b) Reddito e condizioni di vita. http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/4152
ISTAT (2009) La disabilità in Italia. Il quadro della statistica ufficiale. Technical Report 37, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica
Jones MK, Paul LL, Peter JS (2003) Disability, gender and the labour market. IZA Discussion Papers 936, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Jones MK, Latreille PL, Sloane PJ (2006) Disability, gender, and the British labour market. Oxford Econ Papers 58(3):407–449
Kidd MP, Ferko I, Sloane PJ (2000) Disability and the labour market: an analysis of British males. J Health Econ 19(6):961–981
Lalive R, Jean-Philippe W, Josef Z (2013) Do Financial incentives affect firms’demand for disabled workers? J Eur Econ Assoc 11(1):25–58
Mitra S (2006) The Capability Approach and Disability. J Disabil Policy Stud 16(4):236–247
Mitra S, Sambamoorthi U (2006) Employment of persons with disabilities: evidence from the national sample survey. Econ Pol Wkly 41(3):199–203
Nagi S (1965) Some conceptual issues in disability and rehabilitation. In: Sussman MB (ed) Sociology and rehabilitation. American Sociological Association, Washington, DC, pp 100–113
Nagi S (1991) Disability concepts revisited: implications for prevention. In: Pope A, Tarolv A (eds) Disability in America: toward a national agenda for prevention. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp 309–327
OECD (2003) Transforming disability into ability. Policies to promote work and income security for disabled people. Technical Report, OECD, Paris
Parodi G, Sciulli D (2012) Disability and low income persistence in Italian households. Int J Manpower 33(1):9–26
Pfeiffer D (2001) The conceptualization of disability. Res Soc Sci Disabil 2:29–52
Qizilbash M (1997) A weakness of the capability approach with respect to gender justice. J Int Dev 9(2):251–262
Sen A (1992) Inequality re-examined. Oxford Clarendon Press, Oxford
Sen A (2005) Essere disabili due volte. Il Sole-24 Ore. 242, September 4, 2005:36
Terzi L (2003) Beyond the dilemma of difference: the capability approach to disability and special education needs. J Philos Educ 39(3):443–459
WHO (2001) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
Zaidi A, Burchardt T (2005) Comparing incomes when needs differ: equalization for the extra costs of disability in the UK. Rev Income Wealth 51(1):89–114
Acknowledgment
Funding from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research PRIN09 project ‘Measuring human development and capabilities in Italy: methodological and empirical issues’ is gratefully acknowledged. We would like to thank Sophie Mitra and Dario Sciulli and the participants AT to the XXVII National Conference of Labour Economics (Seconda Università di Napoli, Santa Maria Capua Vetere, September 2012), to the PRIN workshop ‘Measuring human development and capabilities in Italy: methodological and empirical issues’ (Department of Economics Marco Biagi, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, October 2012) and to the Symposium on disability (University of Lille, April 2013) for their stimulating comments.
The usual disclaimers apply. All errors and omissions are those of the authors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Addabbo, T., Krishnakumar, J., Sarti, E. (2014). Disability and Work: Empirical Evidence from Italy. In: Malo, M., Sciulli, D. (eds) Disadvantaged Workers. AIEL Series in Labour Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04376-0_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04376-0_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-04375-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-04376-0
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)