Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/284853 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
GLO Discussion Paper No. 1407
Publisher: 
Global Labor Organization (GLO), Essen
Abstract: 
We contribute to the long-standing debate on the Italian North-South divide by assessing the impact of public spending on social infrastructure - including education, healthcare, childcare and social assistance - on the gender employment gap over the last two decades, using a PSVAR analysis. These investments, while not explicitly targeting women, may increase both their labour supply - by reducing the unpaid care work burden - and pro-women labour demand through job creation in care sectors that predominantly employ women. Our research reveals a positive and long-lasting impact of social infrastructure expenditure on private investment, GDP and employment in all areas of the country. However, the reduction of the gender employment gap is detected only in the South and among high-skilled women. These results stress the need for targeted policies to fill the investment gaps in social infrastructure, aiming for a more inclusive labour market, particularly in Southern regions, which suffer from chronic underinvestment and structural challenges.
Subjects: 
Social infrastructure
Gender inequality
Fiscal Policy
Panel SVAR
Italian regions
JEL: 
C33
E24
H30
J16
J18
J21
R58
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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