The paper aims to show how and to what extent the system of compulsory education in Milan is affected by social and ethnic segregation. We argue that, despite being guided by the general criteria of universal access and equality of treatment, not only do Milan’s schools fail to counter socio-economic inequalities and differentiation along ethnic lines in an effective manner, but they actually tend to amplify and entrench them. We begin with a theoretical discussion of the main factors contributing to school segregation and a general overview of Italy’s compulsory education system. This is followed by a presentation of the empirical case of Milan, analysing social and ethnic segregation of children of primary school age (i.e. 6–10 years) by place of residence and school of enrolment. As a clear gap emerges between the ‘natural’ and the ‘actual’ school composition, our analytical focus then shifts to home-to-school mobility as an expression of parental choice. We show that 56% of all students in Milan do not enrol at local state schools and this is due to two main phenomena: families choosing private schools and families moving within the state school system. The analysis of these movements makes it possible to identify avoidance dynamics (i.e., in which disadvantaged or ethnic areas are avoided), as well as incoming mobility towards private schools and state schools located in affluent areas or with a lower intake of pupils of non-Italian ethnic backgrounds.

Economic instability, social changes, and new social policies place economic insecurity high on the scholarly and political agenda. We contribute to these debates by proposing a new multidimensional, intertemporal measure of economic insecurity that accounts for both its multiplicity and its dynamism. First, we develop three theory-driven, multidimensional measures of economic insecurity. Principal Components Analysis validates the measure. Second, we develop a dynamic approach to insecurity, using longitudinal data and a newly revised headcount method. Third, we then use our new measures to analyze the distribution of insecurity in Europe. Our analysis shows that insecurity is widespread across Europe, even in low-inequality, encompassing welfare states. Moreover, it extends across income groups and occupational classes, reaching into the middle classes.

In Italy, parents are free to choose the primary school for their children without restrictions imposed by catchment areas. This freedom of choice, inspired by quasi‐market mechanisms, aims to foster competition between schools and raise educational standards. Analysing the case of Milan using regression models and administrative data for the 2015–16 school year, we study the factors associated with the probability that parents choose a school different from the one closest to where they live. We focus on both push factors (the characteristics of local schools) and pull factors (the features of chosen schools). The findings indicate that parents select schools which have a lower proportion of immigrant pupils and higher socio‐economic status of the student body. On the other hand, school performance in standardised tests is not statistically associated with parents' decisions to opt out of local schools, nor does it emerge as a feature of the schools most likely to attract non‐local students after accounting for the socio‐economic composition of school intake. The resulting picture shows that affluent Italian parents implement avoidance strategies to avoid schools attended by a high proportion of immigrant or lower‐class students—with the potential of fostering segregation and concentrations of disadvantaged groups.

Large earnings losses are likely to cause financial hardship, lower consumption, and trigger poverty and material deprivation. While the phenomenon has received significant attention in the US, it remains relatively under-researched in Europe. Our study aims to fill this gap. We examine the incidence and the distribution of earnings shocks, defined as year-on-year losses of at least 20% of gross individual earnings, in four South European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal) and in four comparator countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark), in 2006–2017, using longitudinal EU-SILC data. The paper proceeds to identifying the relative weight of economic conditions (proxied by GDP growth), and labour market characteristics (employment status, occupational class, and earnings quintile prior to the shock), and goes some way towards clarifying the nature of the effect of each explanatory variable on the incidence of earnings shocks in the eight countries, ceteris paribus. Our results confirm the hypothesis that the reason Southern Europe was more susceptible to earnings shocks during the Great Recession and the Euro crisis was the interplay of more unfavourable economic conditions with higher share of non-standard work (especially self-employment and fixed-term contracts), which left a higher share of the workforce exposed.

In Italy, the management of built assets confiscated from organized crime groups is particularly relevant. Returning these assets to the community is becoming increasingly important for Italian municipalities, thanks to the many social benefits that can be generated (e.g., new spaces to provide community services, a visible and tangible symbol of legality, etc.). The process of redeveloping confiscated buildings, due to procedural complexity and a lack of resources, is currently characterized, on one hand, by a limited number of projects actually implemented compared to the potential of the total number of buildings available and, on the other hand, by the lengthy duration of the redevelopment process (12 years on average), which significantly increases the time it takes for the asset to return social value to the community. The objective of this research was to study, develop, and describe a mechanism that (i) enables an increase in the number of redevelopment actions of confiscated assets, (ii) accelerates the attribution of social value to these assets over time and (iii) extends the social impact of the requalification interventions that provide an opportunity for the professional training of students and the professional qualification of vulnerable people. There are two main tasks of the research shown in this article: (i) to highlight the main critical issues and needs in the management of confiscated assets by Italian municipalities, through a survey conducted among key informants; (ii) to build and test an innovative ‘win–win model’ for the requalification process of confiscated buildings, aimed at overcoming obstacles and anticipating the delivery of social benefits to a large group of stakeholders, including vulnerable people, tested in a pilot project. This “win–win model” combines building requalification and training through the activation of a “construction site school”. All original contributions are derived from the research “Co-WIN”, funded by the “Polisocial Awards 2021”, which developed methods, strategies, and tools capable of reducing social imbalances, with an equity and sustainability perspective. The results illustrated the drivers and challenges for the renovation and reuse of confiscated built assets; the necessary changes in documents and procedures to activate and replicate the “Co-WIN model”; and a training program for the construction-site school based on the social categories involved. Finally, the discussion highlights the network and the mutual benefits for stakeholders, focusing on the social relevance and social impact achievable through applying the Co-WIN model to the requalification process of confiscated buildings.