Local responses to labor demand shocks: A Re-assessment of the case of Italy

Abstract The paper studies how local economies react to labor demand shocks. It focuses on the case of Italy, a country with lasting labor-market disparities in the context of rigid local wages and limited housing supply elasticity. Results document that allowing greater flexibility in local prices is a first-order option to reduce labor-market heterogeneity, while place-based policy seems to be a less viable alternative.