Mixed outcomes of the Bologna process in Italy

A country study in the framework of a comparative analysis – in this case on issues of mobility and employability of Bachelor graduates in Italy in comparison to other European countries – runs the risk of misunderstandings if the characteristics of the individual countries are not sufficiently taken into account. Therefore, we must stress two stylized facts on the Italian setting. First, despite the strong inflow of immigrants in the last 25 years, the absolute number of nineteen-year-olds in Italy dropped by 38 per cent (for a more compre-hensive analysis see Cammelli, di Francia & Guerriero, 1997). This brings about strong direct and indirect effects, both on the demand for higher education and the potential supply of graduates. Second, even if in the last decade the catching-up process has been remarkable, in 2007 the ratio of graduates in the population in the 25-34 age group was only 19 per cent, as compared with an OECD average of 34 per cent (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2010, chapter 9; for further evidence see also Cammelli, 2009a). This is the effect of a delay with deep histori-cal and structural roots, where firm size and local system of production must be taken into consideration to explain the demand for graduates (see Antonelli, 1987, p. 161; Antonelli, di Francia & Guidetti, 2006; Antonelli & Guidetti, 2008): in the 55-64 age group, the ratio reaches only 9 per cent, i.e. less than half the corre-sponding OECD average. This also involves occupational groups such as entrepre-neurs and managers, both in the private and public sectors. This is why the setting of a minimum threshold of 40 per cent in the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) can be highly relevant for Italy.