The impact of a massive migration flow on the regional population structure: The case of Italy
Journal: Vienna Yearbook of Population Research
Volume: 2009, pages 149 - 165
Publisher: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
DOI: 10.1553/populationyearbook2009s149
Antonio Golini (1) and Anna Di Bartolomeo (2)
(1) Department of Social, Economic, Actuarial and Demographic Studies, Faculty of Statistics, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
(2)
(author of correspondence), Department of Social, Economic, Actuarial and Demographic Studies, Faculty of Statistics, “Sapienza” University of Rome, via C. Livi, 10-00168, Rome, Italy. Email: anna.dibartolomeo@uniroma1.it
Abstract
Low economic growth rates are a common problem in many developed countries in Europe. This paper aims to highlight the possible role of demographic factors. Problems of low growth may be exacerbated by an increase in dependency ratios. However, large-scale migrations have been shown to positively affect the age composition of a population. Focusing on Italy, we estimate the impact of migration on the working age population ratio, population size and gross domestic product. We also show that migration may affect the economic gap between the North and South, posing a new potential problem to policymakers.