Non è un Paese per investimenti sociali? Una reinterpretazione della traiettoria di riforma del welfare e della politics del social investment in Italia = No country for social investment? Reinterpreting the welfare reform trajectory and the politics of social investment in Italy

This article re-examines the main welfare reforms in Italy from the 1990s to the present through the lens of social investment (SI), and proposes an interpretation of the political factors that have shaped Italy’s sui generis trajectory, characterized by a lack of (or partial) shift towards SI. Following the Great Recession, Italy combined labour market flexibilization with an expansion of income protection buffers, including the extension of unemployment benefit coverage, the introduction of a national minimum income scheme (significantly curtailed by the Meloni government) and of a universal child allowance for families. However, no significant progress has been made in enhancing services aimed at improving labour market and life-course flows (particularly in the areas of care and work-family reconciliation) and human capital stock development (education and lifelong learning). Beyond the specificities of the economic and institutional context, in highly politicized policy areas, the development of public investment in human capital and social services has been hindered by political dynamics that have prioritized consumption-oriented policies over investment. Conversely, in less contentious policy areas, pressure toward SI from organized interests has resulted in small incremental advancements.