Addressing high unemployment rates in Europe via EU regional policy : Italy and Malta

Abstract

This research dissertation aims to identify the nature, causes and challenges of regional unemployment within Malta and Sicily, and the extent to which EU regional policy addresses, directly or indirectly, unemployed social groups who are distinctively vulnerable to job accessibility. This research delves in the relevant literature review which provides an insight of what constitutes unemployment, particularly the factors contributing to its emergence. A macro-quantitative approach to the issue of unemployment is then adopted to identify the trends and dynamics of gender-based and youth unemployment trends within Malta and Sicily. Having provided a real data analysis, several mutual unemployment problems are discovered between Sicily and Malta, which will be further elaborated through a comparative analysis between the two regions. The conclusions drawn from this research will evaluate whether measures and projects financed through EU structural funds in Malta and Sicily are an efficient or an insignificant tool in addressing, directly or indirectly, the problem of unemployment among the disadvantaged groups within the regions' labour markets.