Introduction

The paper begins with a presentation of the quality of life in Italy as compared to other countries in the European Union. Several of the major socio-demographic and economic and life satisfaction (as revealed by the Eurobarometer survey) indicators are considered. Then, the Italian situation is discussed at greater length in the light of the transformations it has undergone in the past ten years. Thus it is possible to evaluate the following demographic themes: the profound process of aging; transformations in the family; and transformations in urban areas. The following economic themes are considered: the principal characteristics of the marketplace, in particular, the problem of unemployment; and household income and consumption. Finally, the time series of certain objective indicators are placed alongside those of life satisfaction.     

Quality of Life in Europe: Objective and Subjective Indicators A Spatial Analysis Using Classification Techniques

Social Indicators Research -     

A Hierarchical Ordinal Probit Model for the Analysis of Life Satisfaction in Italy

The aim of this paper is to study the individual and contextual determinants of life satisfaction in Italy. A hierarchical probit model is proposed for studying data with group structure and an ordinal response variable. The group structure is defined by the presence of micro observations embedded with regional contexts (macro observations), and the specification is at both of these levels. The methodology is applied to Eurobarometer survey data, with individuals viewed as micro observations and regions as macro observations. We find that Italy is not an homogeneous country with respect to life satisfaction, and that the regional environment contributes with the observed and unobserved characteristics of the individuals to life satisfaction level.     

Italian Quality of Life

The paper begins with a presentation of the quality of life in Italy as compared to other countries in the European Union. Several of the major socio-demographic and economic and life satisfaction (as revealed by the Eurobarometer survey) indicators are considered. Then, the Italian situation is discussed at greater length in the light of the transformations it has undergone in the past ten years. Thus it is possible to evaluate the following demographic themes: the profound process of aging; transformations in the family; and transformations in urban areas. The following economic themes are considered: the principal characteristics of the marketplace, in particular, the problem of unemployment; and household income and consumption. Finally, the time series of certain objective indicators are placed alongside those of life satisfaction.