The share of foreigners who hold degrees, equal to almost 13 per cent, is less than half the EU average. Productivity and entrepreneurial skills are also being adversely affected by the gradual increase in the number of young people and university graduates leaving Italy every year, reflecting structural lags in the economy.
In the space of ten years, youth emigration increased fivefold to reach 0.5 per cent in 2017, while at 0.4 per cent, graduate emigration more than doubled. Italy has been slow to respond to the technological revolution (Figure 7) and economic growth has been badly hit as a result.