Changes in the labour market and health inequalities during the years of the recent economic downturn in Italy

There is widespread concern that episodes of unemployment and unstable working conditions adversely affect health. We add to the debate by focusing on the relationship between work trajectory and the self-reported health of Italian men and women during the present economic downturn. Relying on Italian data in the EU-SILC project (from 2007 to 2010), our sample includes all individuals aged 30 to 60 in 2010, and uses multivariate binomial regression models for preliminary analyses and the Structural Equations modelling (SEM) to observe the cumulative effects of health status according to different job trajectories. Our main findings show similar pictures for men and women. Individuals who are unemployed, ejected or in precarious occupational positions have a higher risk of worsening their health status during these years.Mesa 32: Los sentidos del trabajo. Cultura, subjetividad, trayectorias e identidades en el mundo del trabajoFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

A Comparative Analysis of Inequality in Health Across Europe

The study of inequality in health concerns the relationship between socially structured characteristics and health outcomes. Howewer, health disparities are also linked to purely individual characteristics and contextual ones. In particular, the contextual effect at a national level may reflect differences in the functioning and performing of national health institutions, that may be conceived as further determinants of health inequalities. In this work we aim at estimating the effect of education on self-assessed health across European countries, taking into account potential confounders like age, gender and family social background. Using a multilevel model with individuals nested in countries, we can achieve two aims. First, we can see whether countries differ in their average self-assessed health score. Second, we can test our hypothesis about the existence of a European social gradient, that is that education exerts a relatively constant effect on self-assessed health. We develop our models using data from European Social Surveys (88,842 interviews).Health Inequalities, Health Policies, Public Health Care Systems, Comparative Studies

Health Inequalities and the Welfare State in European Families

Using EU-Silc data from 2005, our aim in this article is to estimate how self-assessed health and the gradient between education and health vary among individuals in different European countries, considering their contextual socioeconomic vulnerability. In order to do this, we use a hierarchical model with individuals nested in households at the second level, and in various European countries at the third level. Our main research interest is on the modelling variables associated with better health conditions and their improvement or worsening according not only to micro/ individual and macro/national levels but also to the household: a level on which social protection (of whatever nature) exerts its influence. Diferent household contexts receive different amounts of resources, by transfers, social care and health services, which could directly affect health and also modify the gradient between education and health. Moreover, these relations are likely to change among European countries, on the basis of various welfare assets, as the identification of beneficiaries\u27 categories and the weight of category-based measures on the overall welfare expenditure varies among countries and among welfare models

Comparing labour market among Spain, Italy, Argentina and Chile

Production of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004Capítol publicat a: Fortunato, Vincenzo (ed.). Old and new inequalities in a globalised world : experience from Europe and Latin America. Torino ; Paris : l'Harmattan, 2020The chapter, elaborated in the context of the INCASI European project, deals with the issue of socialand employment seen from the dynamics of labour market segmentation. The study uses a specific analytical model to identify a range of segments that differentiate the employment positions hierarchically, in correspondence with the individual characteristics and professional profiles. The transnational comparison between two European countries and two in Latin America, which share the belonging to the Southern part of the world, allowed us to demonstrate that there are unexpected similarities between the contexts considered, both in the trends and in the configuration of the occupational segmentation. Despite significant differences in both socio-economic contexts and institutional regulation of labour, the structure of inequalities is reproduced through its intrinsic logic, functional to the needs of global capitalism

Changes in the labour market and health inequalities during the years of the recent economic downturn in Italy

There is widespread concern that episodes of unemployment and unstable working conditions adversely affect health. We add to the debate by focusing on the relationship between work trajectory and the self-reported health of Italian men and women during the present economic downturn. Relying on Italian data in the EU-SILC project (from 2007 to 2010), our sample includes all individuals aged 30 to 60 in 2010, and uses multivariate binomial regression models for preliminary analyses and the Structural Equations modelling (SEM) to observe the cumulative effects of health status according to different job trajectories. Our main findings show similar pictures for men and women. Individuals who are unemployed, ejected or in precarious occupational positions have a higher risk of worsening their health status during these years.Mesa 32: Los sentidos del trabajo. Cultura, subjetividad, trayectorias e identidades en el mundo del trabajoFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

La segmentació del mercat de treball: la condició econòmica dels professionals autònoms a Itàlia i l’Argentina

L’article se centra en les condicions dels treballadors autònoms professionals en els mercats laborals europeus i llatinoamericans, l’augment dels quals està vinculat al desenvolupament de l’economia de serveis. Fent una crítica a la tradicional teoria de segmentació, aquest grup de treballadors independents altament qualificats, expressió de la classe mitjana alta i del treball postindustrial, es pot considerar a mig camí entre el mercat i la jerarquia, entre la internalització de recursos humans i la subcontractació. Considerant les desigualtats socials, la pregunta de l’investigador és si les condicions dels professionals independents (és a dir, «autònoms sense empleats» i «professionals per compte propi», caracteritzats per nivells d’educació més alts i que treballen en els sectors de serveis avançats) són comparables amb les dels empleats (a Itàlia i l’Argentina). L’article investiga l’ingrés laboral (com a variable dependent) per avaluar com això canvia considerant l’ocupació (autònom o empleat) i les característiques sociodemogràfiques (com a variables independents). La comparació dels ingressos es va fer utilitzant dues bases de dades: EPH-INDEC (Encuesta Permanente de Hogares) per a l’Argentina i ITA-SILC per a Itàlia. Malgrat els problemes de comparació en la classificació de les ocupacions, l’anàlisi destaca les diferències entre tots dos països, vinculades a una expansió dissímil de l’economia de serveis, els serveis professionals i la subcontractació de competències altament qualificades. A més, en condicions de grans desigualtats d’ingressos en l’autoocupació, els professionals graduats independents a l’Argentina sembla que econòmicament se’n surten més bé, mentre que a Itàlia mostren menors ingressos que altres ocupacions, la qual cosa suggereix un impacte desigual en el mercat laboral de l’educació superior en tots dos països.El artículo se centra en las condiciones de los trabajadores autónomos profesionales en los mercados laborales europeos y latinoamericanos, cuyo aumento está vinculado al desarrollo de la economía de servicios. Realizando una crítica a la tradicional teoría de segmentación, este grupo de trabajadores independientes altamente calificados, expresión de la clase media alta y del trabajo postindustrial, se puede considerar a medio camino entre el mercado y la jerarquía, entre la internalización de recursos humanos y la subcontratación. Considerando las desigualdades sociales, la pregunta del investigador es si las condiciones de los profesionales independientes (es decir, «autónomos sin empleados» y «profesionales por cuenta propia», caracterizados por niveles de educación más altos y que trabajan en los sectores de servicios avanzados) son comparables con las de los empleados (en Italia y Argentina). El artículo investiga el ingreso laboral (como variable dependiente) para evaluar cómo ello cambia considerando la ocupación (autónomo o empleado) y las características sociodemográficas (como variables independientes). La comparación de los ingresos se realizó utilizando dos bases de datos: EPH-INDEC (Encuesta Permanente de Hogares) para Argentina e ITA-SILC para Italia. A pesar de los problemas de comparación en la clasificación de las ocupaciones, el análisis destaca las diferencias entre los dos países, vinculadas a una expansión disímil de la economía de servicios, los servicios profesionales y la subcontratación de competencias altamente cualificadas. Además, en una condición de altas desigualdades de ingresos en el autoempleo, los profesionales graduados independientes en Argentina parecen mantener un mejor desempeño económico, mientras que en Italia muestran menores ingresos que otras ocupaciones, lo que sugiere un impacto desigual en el mercado laboral de la educación superior en ambos países.  The article focuses on the conditions of self-employed professionals in the European and Latin American labour markets, whose increase is linked to the expansion of on-demand service economy. Moving from a critic to the traditional segmentation theory, this group of high-skilled self-employed, expression of the upper-middle class and post-industrial work can be considered halfway between market and hierarchy, HR internalization and outsourcing. Dealing with social inequalities, the research questions are whether the conditions of the independent professionals (namely “self-employers without employees” and “cuenta propia profesionales”, characterized on average by higher levels of education and who works in the advanced service sectors) are comparable with employees and whether in the two contexts (specifically Italy and Argentina) there are similar trends. The article investigates work income (as a dependent variable) to measure how it changes controlling for the occupation (self-employed or employee) and the socio-demographic characteristics (as independent variables). The comparison of income levels was realized by using two datasets: EPH-INDEC (Encuesta Permanente des Hogares) for Argentina and ITA-SILC for Italy. Despite the limits -due to problems of comparison in the classification of occupations- the analysis highlights differences between the two countries, linked to a dissimilar expansion of the service economy, professional services and outsourcing of high-skilled competences. Moreover, within a frame of a high income inequalities in self-employment, graduated independent professionals in Argentina seem to retain a stronger economic performance, while in Italy they show lower earnings than other occupations, suggesting an unequal labour market impact of higher education in the two countries

Changes in the labour market and health inequalities during the years of the recent economic downturn in Italy

There is widespread concern that episodes of unemployment and unstable working conditions adversely affect health. We add to the debate by focusing on the relationship between work trajectory and the self-reported health of Italian men and women during the present economic downturn. Relying on Italian data in the EU-SILC project (from 2007 to 2010), our sample includes all individuals aged 30 to 60 in 2010, and uses multivariate binomial regression models for preliminary analyses and the Structural Equations modelling (SEM) to observe the cumulative effects of health status according to different job trajectories. Our main findings show similar pictures for men and women. Individuals who are unemployed, ejected or in precarious occupational positions have a higher risk of worsening their health status during these years.Mesa 32: Los sentidos del trabajo. Cultura, subjetividad, trayectorias e identidades en el mundo del trabajoFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

morphological and genetic characterisation of pagliarola breed and its genetic relationships with other three indigenous italian sheep breeds

Sheep are an important livestock species in the socio-economic contest around the world. In the past, exotic sheep breeds were utilised in crosses with local breeds in order to improve their production traits. The Pagliarola is an ancient sheep population spread over many areas of the central Italy, mainly in Abruzzo region. The aim of this paper was to identify this breed from other sheep breeds living in the same area trough morphological and genetic characterisation. Fifty-three Pagliarola sheep animals (two flocks) were sampled together with 30 sheep of Appenninica, Gentile di Puglia and Merinizzata Italiana. Biometrical measures and 25 microsatellite markers were studied for the characterisation. In the morphological analysis, the Pagliarola was observed to be well separated from the other breeds and the genomic results confirmed the morphological study. In the molecular approach, a total of 330 alleles were detected. In the neighbour-Net tree, each breed clustered independently and no clear cluster was observed. The expected heterozygosity was the highest in Appenninica (0.78), while Pagliarola had the lowest (0.70). Results of STRUCTURE analyses at K=5 showed Pagliarola breed splitted in two sub-clusters. Both biometric and molecular results allow to consider the residual Pagliarola as an original genotype. Moreover, the variability still remaining in this population can be useful to plan suitable conservation programs

Desigualdades socioeconómicas en salud en la Argentina e Italia en 2015-2018

En la literatura hay una falta de investigación acerca de las desigualdades en salud en Sudamérica y sus diferencias con respecto a las de los países desarrollados. Como en Italia se han registrado tendencias similares en los últimos años y muestra similaridades con la Argentina, se ha decidido utilizar el país mediterráneo con fines comparativos. La hipótesis planteada consistió en que, más allá de las diferencias estructurales, las desigualdades en salud presentarían patrones similares en ambos países, caracterizados por una economía capitalista. Los grupos sociales en posiciones educativas y ocupacionales favorables exhibirían un mejor estado de salud que los grupos desfavorecidos. Se presentaron algunas estadísticas descriptivas sobre la situación general en los dos países, y luego se analizaron datos provenientes de dos encuestas que recolectan información individual sobre condiciones sociales y estados de salud (EDSA, de 2017 a 2018, y “EHIS - European Health Interview Survey”, ISTAT, 2015). Los resultados muestran que la Argentina e Italia poseen diferentes niveles de bienestar, tasa de mortalidad y servicios de salud, pero que las disparidades relativas en salud parecen muy similares, confirmando la hipótesis de Marmot (2017) sobre la forma general de las desigualdades en salud. Trabajadores manuales y precarios, particularmente las personas desempleadas, sistemáticamente presentan un peor estado de salud percibido con respecto a las clases sociales más altas.In the literature there is a lack of investigation on health inequalities in South America and their differences with respect to those in the developed countries. Since Italy has recorded similar economic trends in recent years and has similarities with Argentina, we decided to use the Mediterranean country for comparative purposes. Our hypothesis was that, beyond structural differences, health inequalities present similar patterns in these two countries characterized by a capitalist economy. Social groups in advantaged educational and occupational positions exhibit better health than disadvantaged groups. We present some descriptive statistics on the overall situation in the two countries, and we then analyse data stemming from two surveys that collected individual information on social conditions and health statuses (OASD from 2017 to 2018, and “EHIS - European Health Interview Survey”, ISTAT 2015). The findings show that Argentina and Italy have different levels of wellbeing, mortality rates, and health services. But relative disparities in health seem very similar, confirming the hypothesis of Marmot (2017) about the general form of health inequalities. Manual and precarious workers (in particular unemployed persons) present systematically worse perceived health with respect to higher social classes.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació