Integrating and decentralizing the employment services. The case of Lombardy and Milan

This paper explores the functioning of a (supposedly) networked system for the provision of employment services implemented by the Lombardy region, which was inspired by the principle of horizontal subsidiarity incorporated in the Italian Constitution in 2001. The regional government devised an employment services system centred on a series of instruments which both empower individuals at risk of social exclusion and build a services path which is tailored to their needs and characteristics, and involve a network of public and private actors. Analysis of the implementation of this system does show that a considerable effort was made to apply the principles of quasi-markets and horizontal subsidiarity, and the related conditions for effective functioning as suggested by the literature. However, a closer scrutiny shows some weaknesses both as regards the real role played by the private sector as well as the weak policy integration (multi-level) developed by the devised system.