Decent Work in Italy: The Basic-Relations-Fairness Proposal

Martina Lavagnini and Antonella Mennella

Forum for Social Economics, 2016, vol. 45, issue 2-3, 193-212

Abstract: This paper is a contribution to the debate on “decent work,” developed here as an instrument for measuring human development. The concept, conceived by International Labour Organization in 1999 is interpreted here in line with Sen's capability approach. The main idea on which the proposal is based is that work “can be a liberator” [Sen, A. (1999) Development as freedom , Oxford: Oxford University Press] unless working defects prevent that. Elements identified in the basic-relations-fairness proposal are grouped into three profiles that are prioritized into two levels. Working defects are highlighted as a distance from the actual to the desired labor condition; when not possible, good qualities of labor are counted as an approach to the desired situation. The proposal is first presented theoretically, and then the case of Italy is taken as an empirical field of application, using data from different sources. The empirical evidence also portrays the conditions of macro-areas in the different dimensions of decent work. Finally, according to the Contu-De Muro 2012 methodology, a synthetic indicator of decent work dimensions is built by combining basic profile variables.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/07360932.2014.995198

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