Overview
- Italy’s recent momentum has faded and growth is now seen as modest in the coming years, Panetta told the Università di Messina.
- About one in ten recent Italian graduates has moved abroad—especially engineers and IT specialists—and this outflow is not offset by similarly qualified arrivals.
- A young graduate in Germany earns on average 80% more than an Italian peer, with the pay gap versus France at 30%, according to the governor.
- Istat projections indicate the working‑age population will shrink by more than 7 million by 2050, prompting calls to raise female participation and use targeted immigration.
- Fiscal relief since 2021 helped preserve household incomes, but Panetta argues durable pay increases hinge on productivity and higher education investment, noting public spending on education is under 4% of GDP and below the EU average.