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The North-South Divide in Italy (sometimes referred to as the Southern Question[1]) is the large economic and political divide between Northern and Southern Italy. While regional economic divides are common in many countries, "Italy’s case is peculiar because of its longevity," says economic historian Gianni Toniolo.[2] Italy suffers from the largest geographical divide in the European Union.[1]
Modern economic divide
From the years 2008-2013, Southern Italy's economy contracted by 13% and Northern Italy's economy contracted by 7% — Southern Italy's economy contracted by nearly twice as much.[2]
Employment
In 2015, Southern Italy's employment was lower than that of any country in the European Union;[2] and Southern Italy has one of the lowest youth employment rates in all of Europe.[3] The graduate employment rates of Southern Italy are the worst in the European Union.[4] Around 2013, women in North Italy had an employment rate of 56% and women in South Italy had an employment rate of roughly 30%; this shows that a large portion of females do not participate in the Italian labour market, especially the South.[3] The unemployment rate in the South is four times higher than that of the North and the Centre.[1]
GDP
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The GDP per capita divide is increasing between North and the South.[4] In Italy, the regions with the lowest GDP per capita are all Southern.[5] South Italy has roughly 65% of the GDP per capita of the North.[3]
Poverty and income
The frequency of poor families is six times higher in the South than in the North. Since the 1990s, inequality has increased between the South and rest of Italy. Income poverty rates in the South are significantly higher in the South: for the whole of Italy from 2000-2006 it was at 13%; in the North it is from 3.6% to 4.8%; in the Centre it is from 4.7% to 7%; and in the South it ranges from 28-29%.[3] For the whole country, the rate of families living below the poverty line is 10.2%; however, in the North this rate is 4.4% and in the South the rate is 20.6%. In the North, the median income per month is around 8,000 euros, while in the South it is around 5,000 euros per month.[6] Around one in four families in the South are estimated to be on or below the poverty line. [1]
The divide in history
At the time of unification, Italy was divided into eight separate states, which developed cultural and institutional differences. These differences also included economic differences. At unification, Italy generally lagged behind the rest of Western Europe in terms of economic progress; however, Southern Italy lagged behind the rest of Italy.[7]
In the early stages of the Italian Republic, the per capita income was about 15% higher in the North than in the South.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Davis, John A. (2015-11-01). "A Tale of Two Italys? The "Southern Question" Past and Present". The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199669745.013.5.
- ^ a b c "A tale of two economies, A tale of two economies". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Ballarino, Gabriele; Braga, Michela; Bratti, Massimiliano; Checchi, Daniele; Filippin, Antonio; Fiorio, Carlo V.; Leonardi, Marco; Meschi, Elena; Scervini, Francesco (2013). "GINI Country Report: Growing Inequalities and their Impacts in Italy". GINI Country Reports.
- ^ a b Romei, Valentina (September 12, 2019). "Southern Italy worst for graduate employment prospects". Financial Times.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ See List of Italian regions by GDP per capita for citation.
- ^ Usseglio, Ashley (2016). "The North-South Divide: Regional Economic Inequality in Contemporary Italy". UVM Honors College Senior Theses.
- ^ Toniolo, Gianni (2013-03-07). "An Overview of Italy's Economic Growth". The Oxford Handbook of the Italian Economy Since Unification. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199936694.013.0001.
- ^ Vecchi, Giovanni; Amendola, Nicola (2017-03-09). "Inequality". Measuring Wellbeing: A History of Italian Living Standards. Oxford University Press. pp. 293–332. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199944590.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-994459-0.