Decomposing employment change in a crisis period in Italy: a multifactor partitioning approach

This paper focuses on the dynamics of employment in Italy, with reference to the crisis period 2007-2010. More precisely, it investigates the role of sectoral and spatial dimensions on employment change, and classifies Italian regions in relation to the similarity of behaviours. It uses a Multifactor Partitioning (MFP) approach, introducing, in addition, a methodology for the synthesis of the results from MFP. The proposed methodology allows the classification of Italian regions according to similar patterns of development during the crisis. The analysis is based on data from ASIA, the Italian business statistical register of local units.