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Italy’s south is worse off than Greece

Italy's impoverished south has the lowest growth rate in the eurozone, lagging far behind even the sick man of Europe, Greece.

Italy's south is worse off than Greece
Crumbling buildings and rubbish in Palermo, Sicily. Photo: Denis Bocquet

Italy's southern regions are at risk of “permanent underdevelopment” after a seven-year recession, as well as a steep drop in population and industrial output, a report published on Thursday by the Association for Industrial Development in Southern Italy (Svimez), warned.

The south's gross domestic product (GDP) declined again in 2014 – for the seventh year in a row – by 1.3 percent, the study showed, while its economic output grew by just 13 percent between 2001 and 2014.

This was an especially poor performance when compared to Greece's economy, which grew by 24 percent during the same period.

The figures paint a picture of an ever-widening wealth gap between Italy's north and south and make for alarming reading: one in three people are at risk of poverty in the south, compared to one in 10 in the north.

A dwindling population is also hindering chances of a southern revival: last year, just 174,000 births were registered in the south – the lowest in 150 years. 

Meanwhile, young people are fleeing in their droves, sick at the slow pace of change and lack of opportunities, something which threatens to turn many small southern Italian cities into ghost-towns.

Between 2001 and 2014, 744,000 people moved to the center-north in search of better opportunities, of whom 534,000 were below the age of 34 and 205,000 were university graduates.

Alberto D'Alessandro, 25, was one of the people who left the south in 2014, moving from the Sicilian capital of Palermo to Milan.

“I'd recently graduated in design but there weren't any places to work in Palermo,” he told The Local. “There used to be until a few years ago, but then all the [companies] closed down.”

Within a year of moving to Milan, he completed a master's degree and found a job, something he insisted would have been impossible in Palermo.

“Even though I had no prior experience I was given the job. My bosses here trust and respect me, it really makes you think,” he said.

Italy's failure to narrow the divide risks creating a progressive loss of human, business and financial resources, as talented youngsters like D'Alessandro see their future either in the north or abroad.

The report warned that, sooner or later, a point of no return would be reached and the south would be condemned to “permanent underdevelopment”.

Delio Miotti, a researcher at Svimez, told The Local of the need to act fast.

“We have to work together with our European neighbours to draw trade and tourism to the area.”

But creating growth in the south is a problem successive governments have tried, and failed, to solve for the last 30 years.  

“At the moment, there are no great plans,” Miotti added.

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MONEY

EXPLAINED: How to claim Italy’s €200 cost of living bonus

The Italian government is sending one-off €200 payments to cushion the rising cost of living, but they won't be automatic. Here's the latest on how the process works.

EXPLAINED: How to claim Italy's €200 cost of living bonus

The €200 cost of living bonus was announced in May 2022, alongside several government measures aimed at offsetting the increasing cost of living, as The Local reported.

Employees, as well as the self-employed, pensioners and the unemployed, will be eligible to receive the €200 payment if they have an annual income of under €35,000 gross, according to a decree law passed in May.

READ ALSO: Who can claim Italy’s €200 cost of living bonus?

However, the bonus is only automatically made to those who are state employees or pensioners. Those in these categories will be identified by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and INPS and receive €200 along with their salaries or pension payments.

What if I work in the private sector?

Employers working in the private sector should receive their payments in their July pay packet. First, however, they need to submit a self-declaration (autodichiarazione) form to their employer, who will pay the sum with the July pay check and then recover the funds from the state later.

The decree doesn’t specify a deadline for the submission, but as the payments should be made in July, the paperwork needs to be filed before that – so you’ll need to talk to your employer and arrange it.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The rules and deadlines for filing Italian taxes in 2022

The self-declaration serves to establish that the worker has all the requirements to be a beneficiary. That means the person does not go over the income ceiling for the benefit, for example.

You will also have to declare that you will not receive a €200 bonus from other sources, such as from being a recipient of the citizen income or through another employment relationship.

How can other workers apply?

Italy’s government expanded the bonus payment scheme to more people in early May, as The Local reported.

Seasonal workers, domestic and cleaning staff, the self-employed, the unemployed and those on Italy’s ‘citizens’ income’ were added to the categories of people in Italy eligible for a one-off €200 payment.

These other categories of workers will not receive automatic payment, though. Instead, they need to make a special request to INPS to receive the bonus.

There are different deadlines for different people, so ‘domestic workers’ (lavoratori domestici) need to apply by September 30th. Other workers, such as seasonal, for example, have until October 21st.

You can apply for the bonus on the INPS website, which indicates that the payments will be made at an unspecified later date.

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