Abstract
In this chapter, the changes in the Italian capitalist structure will be assessed in light of the impact of the policy decisions adopted by the various Italian administrations especially after the Eurozone crisis. It is argued here that similar poslicies, instead on increasing competitiveness, actually exacerbated the structural problems already plaguing the Italian economy. In doing so, this chapter highlights the contradictions of the strategies pursued in the national and transnationalist arena by the Italian capitalist elites and their impact on the future of the country.The analysis is predicated around the dynamics of the Italian unofficial economy or underground economy, its attractiveness for irregular migration and the extent to which the vicissitudes of Italy in the Euro, as well as the policies selected to react to the crisis, made the informal sector more, instead of less, relevant, with all that it implies in terms of structural loss of competitiveness.
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Notes
- 1.
Following OECD manual, irregular or underground employment is meant to be ‘Employment concealed by the enterprises choosing not to respect employment regulations or immigration laws by hiring labour off the books’. See OECD (2002, p. 38).
- 2.
See http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-22/cocaine-sales-to-boost-italian-gdp-in-boon-for-budget as accessed on 5 May 2016.
- 3.
Source: Bühn, A., C. Montenegro and F. Schneider (2010), ‘New estimates for the shadow economies all over the world’, International Economic Journal, 24(4): 443–61.
- 4.
See http://www.eurispes.eu/content/listituto-di-ricerca-degli-italiani as accessed on 5 May 2016.
- 5.
See http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/175791 as accessed on 5 May 2016.
- 6.
See ISTAT (2015).
- 7.
See http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/175791 as accessed on 5 May 2016.
- 8.
See http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/648269/Hungary-plan-fence-border-Romania-migrants-refugees-crisis-Viktor-Orban-Schengen as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 9.
See EU website http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-963_en.htm as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 10.
See La Repubblica website: http://video.repubblica.it/rubriche/rispostarep/rispostarep-quanti-migranti-sbarcheranno-questa-estate/239361/239274?ref=HRER2-2 as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 11.
See La Stampa website: http://www.lastampa.it/2015/06/11/italia/cronache/migranti-le-stazioni-di-milano-e-roma-sembrano-campi-profughi-mmdKvo2kXzB5HdYTbZZcSM/pagina.html as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 12.
See Il Secolo XIX website: http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/imperia/2015/09/15/ARKqHuxF-migranti_arrestati_fermati.shtml as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 13.
See La Repubblica website: http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2013/10/03/news/lampedusa_brucia_un_barcone_strage_di_migranti-67817611/ as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 14.
See Italian navy website: http://www.marina.difesa.it/cosa-facciamo/operazioni-concluse/Pagine/mare-nostrum.aspx as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 15.
FRONTEX is the EU border angency, see website: http://frontex.europa.eu as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 16.
For the differences between Mare Nostrum and Triton, see Rai website: http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/Scheda-Mare-Nostrum-e-Triton-le-differenze-4fedb886-58d9-48c7-88d8-e5bb2a58b8d3.html as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 17.
See Italian Navy website: http://www.marina.difesa.it/cosa-facciamo/operazioni-in-corso/Pagine/EUNAVFORMED.aspx as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 18.
See Italian navy website: http://www.marina.difesa.it/cosa-facciamo/operazioni-concluse/Pagine/mare-nostrum.aspx as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 19.
Frontex estimated that after the closure of the Balkan route in April 2016, the number of asylum seekers arriving in Greece dropped by 90%, see http://frontex.europa.eu as accessed on 13 May 2016.
- 20.
They consider an informal or underground economy as ‘all incoming earning activities not regulated by the state in social environments where similar activities are regulated’. The illegal economy is instead represented by those activities which are against the law. See Reyneri, E. (1999a) Immigration And The Underground Economy In New Receiving South European Countries: Manifold Negative Effects, Manifold Deep-Rooted Causes, Final Report Of The Project ‘Migrants’ Insertion In The Informal Economy, Deviant Behaviour And The Impact On Receiving Societies’- CE/DGXII-Science, Research And Development, Tsr Program, Contract No. Soe2-Ct95-3005, Mimeo: 16).
- 21.
See, for example, Baldwin-Edwards, M., and Arango, J., (1999), Immigrants and the informal economy in southern Europe, London: Frank Cass; See also Reyneri, E., (1999b), ‘The mass legalisation of migrants in Italy: Permanent or temporary emergence from the underground economy?’, in Baldwin-Edwards, M., and Arango, J., (1999), Immigrants and the informal economy in southern Europe, London: Frank Cass, p.84;
- 22.
See Latest Developments with Alemanno in Rome and New Proposals About Romanians and Roms. Corriere Romano (2008), Immigrazione e campi Rom, 30 Aprile 2008.
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Talani, L.S. (2017). Italy and the Loss of Competitiveness: Between the Underground Economy and Migration. In: The Political Economy of Italy in the Euro. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57755-9_8
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