Aging Italy: Low fertility and societal rigidities

Abstract

For many decades, the Italian population has been characterized by increasing longevity, persistent low fertility, and fertility postponement. Italy is a country of many contradictions, as low fertility interplays-to a certain extent paradoxically-with strong family ties and values, high parental investment in child quality, and low female labor-market participation. This chapter offers reflections on the main institutional factors leading to Italy’s low and late fertility. I point out the features of the Italian context-in general not easily quantifiable or measurable-that plausibly represent elements of viscosity impeding a rapid and smooth process of family formation and transition to parenthood. The identification of social rigidities that make changes in reproductive behavior particularly difficult suggests possible policies to raise fertility in order to abate an unprecedented aging process.