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As in most OECD countries, obtaining good-quality housing in a location facilitating access to jobs, public services and amenities can be very challenging for Italian households with low or unstable income. This book sheds light on access to housing in Italy from two different, complementary vantage points. First, it puts the Italian housing market in international perspective using OECD statistics and analysis to compare housing policies and outcomes in Italy to other OECD countries. Second, it zooms in on selected Italian innovative housing projects, where it asks residents and other stakeholders about their experiences with these initiatives: what were their difficulties, how have the projects been designed and developed, what did the projects bring to them?

The Rethinking Regional Attractiveness in the New Global Environment report highlights lessons learned from multiple regional case studies from five EU countries (Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden), additional work with Latin American and Caribbean regions, and a series of webinars and one-on-one dialogues on rethinking regional attractiveness. The OECD’s innovative multidimensional approach to assessing regional attractiveness considers global engagement beyond international connections and economic factors alone. The methodology considers more than 50 indicators to develop regional attractiveness profiles covering six domains of attractiveness: economic attraction, connectedness, visitor appeal, natural environment, resident well-being, and land-use and housing. The report helps regional and national policy makers to understand how individual regions fare in a new global environment that continues to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, compounded by the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and existing megatrends – all of which produce asymmetric impacts within and between countries and regions – and identify the policy levers available to enhance their attractiveness to the international target groups of investors, talent, and visitors. It also considers the need to co-ordinate across levels of government, across policy fields, and with private stakeholders, and highlights good practices to implement regional attractiveness policies.

This paper investigates the demand for language skills using data on online job vacancies in 27 European Union member countries and the United Kingdom in 2021. Evidence indicates that although Europe remains a linguistically diverse labour market, knowing English confers unique advantages in certain occupations. Across countries included in the analyses, a knowledge of English was explicitly required in 22% of all vacancies and English was the sixth most required skill overall. A knowledge of German, Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese was explicitly demanded in between 1% and 2% of all vacancies. One in two positions advertised on line for managers or professionals required some knowledge of English, on average across European Union member countries and across OECD countries in the sample. This compares with only one in ten positions for skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and among elementary occupations.

In the face of what has increasingly been referred to as an ongoing 'permacrisis', governments must cope with and respond to emerging threats while already grappling with longstanding issues such as climate change, digital disruption and low levels of trust. In this context, understanding new approaches and spreading successful ideas has never been more important. To promote this, the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) has analysed 1 084 innovative initiatives from 94 countries to derive and understand novel government practices. The report discusses four key trends: 1) new forms of accountability for a new era of government, 2) new approaches to care, 3) new methods for preserving identities and strengthening equity and 4) new ways of engaging citizens and residents. Ten case studies and dozens of supporting examples illustrate these trends.

This report provides an overview of green infrastructure planning and the use of nature-based solutions in Italy. It identifies key challenges and trade-offs and provides recommendations to promote their uptake across the different levels of government. The report also analyses four case studies that have been identified in agreement with the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport: the Green Node in Bari, the metro line M4 in Milan, the Ridracoli Dam in Emilia-Romagna, and the railway line Bicocca-Catenanuova.

Since the last review in 2016, Italy has raised its climate ambitions by aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, and the country is on track to reach its 2030 targets for emissions reductions and energy efficiency. The government has taken encouraging initial steps to overcome the long permitting procedures, administrative burdens and increasing local opposition that have delayed new renewable installations. Italy in 2022 successfully reduced its reliance on Russian natural gas imports, by signing new contracts with alternative suppliers, making use of the pipeline and LNG infrastructure that it has built up over the last decade. Reducing overall demand for natural gas through an accelerated shift to alternative energy sources and a stronger focus on energy efficiency, especially in the building sector, will not only further strengthen energy security, but also help the country meet its climate targets. In this report, the IEA provides energy policy recommendations to help Italy effectively transform its energy sector in line with its goals.