Impact of the 2008 and 2012 financial crises on the unemployment rate in Italy: an interrupted time series approach

One of the most widely recognized indicators of a recession is a rising unemployment rate. In Italy, from the late nineties this indicator continuously decreased over time until 2007. The aim of this paper is to study the immediate impact and persistence of the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2012 European sovereign debt crisis on the Italian unemployment rate by using a segmented regression analysis approach of interrupted time series. Quarterly data were collected from the website of the Italian National Institute of Statistics. In particular, the impact of the financial crises was evaluated across some subpopulations of interest by stratifying unemployment rate for age groups, in order to highlight the effects on youth unemployment, gender and macro-regions. Finally, to provide a more in-depth analysis, some information on the effects of the two economic recessions was also given about the people not engaged in Education, Employment or Trainin

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS OF THE EXTERNAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION: A MULTILEVEL APPROACH

Abstract. This paper aims at measuring the external effectiveness of the degree programmes of Italian universities taking into account both the characteristics of graduates and some context factors that differently affect the Italian regional labour markets. The analysis is performed via a multilevel logistic model using the Istat survey on Italian graduates of year 2004. Considering job placement one year after graduation, the regional youth unemployment rate affects the occupational chances, but this effect is moderate especially for degree programmes yielding high occupational chances. Even after controlling for the youth unemployment rate, the probability of getting job for graduates in the same subject area is markedly different across universities

Students’ satisfaction and teaching efficiency of university offer

This study analyses the factors affecting students’ satisfaction with university experience, focusing on the aspects characterising the teaching efficiency of educational offer. For this purpose, organisation of teaching activities, available information, teaching materials, and other facilities offered to students to make their learning experience more successful, are considered as indicators of teaching efficiency. Our interest in this topic is justified by the importance that students’ satisfaction assumes, not only as indicator of the quality of educational services but also for its relationship with overall life satisfaction and subjective well-being. A structural equation model with latent variables is estimated by using survey and administrative data of the University of Pisa. Main findings seem to show that teaching efficiency has a positive effect on satisfaction and suggest that whenever it is inadequate, or at least, considered as such, students are less satisfied for their university experience. The effects of other factors on students’ satisfaction such as studies organisation, social capital and internship experience are also discussed