Italy today 2007. Social picture and trends

In this 41st edition, the annual Report on Italy's social situation by CENSIS Foundation (Center for Social Studies and Policies) once again describes and interprets the positive aspects of Italy's socioeconomic trends in recent years. The rhetoric of economic decline has been abandoned, the inclination to accumulating financial assets has increased, and the sparks of economic vitality have generated a small, quiet economic boom last year. The General Considerations introducing this year's Report encourage the reader to view even 2008 in positive terms, and highlight the minority form of certain development processes under way in Italy. In Part 2 - Italian Society in 2007 - the Report outlines the new equilibria underlying the economic development achieved by Italy, the slow formation of a new leadership, and some persistent drawbacks of Italian society. Parts 3 and 4 are devoted to in-depth appraisals of a few key sectors: education and training, the labor market, health and welfare,