Italy: Public support instruments to support self-employment and job creation in one-person and micro enterprises

The Italian productive system is distinguished by its high number of self-employed workers and micro enterprises with fewer than 10 employees. Measures to support entrepreneurship have been enacted since the second post-war period. Since the 1990s the introduction of specific financing instruments for youth and female entrepreneurship has been a significant aspect of active labour policies. In general, one of the main obstacles to new-firm creation has been the excessively complex bureaucratic procedures required. The economic crisis that began in 2008 has prompted the activation of national and, in some cases regional, instruments to reduce the structural problems that afflict the Italian economic system: the national government and the regions have already financed instruments, and they anticipate specific ones to facilitate entrepreneurship, especially in areas characterised by high unemployment rates and long-term unemployment.