Lo Stato come ‘fornitore’ d’investimenti sociali (State as Social Investments Provider)

We analyze the role of the State in social investment (education, health services, etc.), different from those in infrastructures. We do so because, in the current economic and social situation, this type of investment, in addition to strengthening the European social model, could be particularly effective in creating new jobs. To test the link between social investment and employment we modify the Paolo Sylos Labini’s employment equation model (MOSYL), inserting in the model social investment instead of those in infrastructures. The quantitative implementation is based on Eurostat data for the 28 EU countries, and the results are encouraging: the employment rate is strongly influenced by factors outside the labor market, which affect not only the general economic environment (represented by GDP), but also by elements linked to the social context, concerning the new forms of welfare. Text of the speech given at the conference "Paolo Sylos Labini e la politica delle riforme", held at Sapienza University of Rome on 04 December 2015, organized by the Accademia dei Lincei with Economia Civile.