[Foreign immigration in Italy: levels, characteristics, and prospects]

"After a careful scrutiny of direct and indirect sources on immigration, the author presents a weighed estimate of foreign presence in Italy disaggregated at the regional level. The estimate is based on the analysis of several sources and on a number of plausible hypotheses which can be drawn from them.... The article highlights the importance of information on those immigrants 'regularized' on the basis of law no. 943 of 1986. From the analysis, carried out separately for two components (working permits and unemployment registrations), it clearly [demonstrates] the way in which non EEC foreign labour enters the Italian economic system and how it is heavily influenced by the weakness of the market in the Southern regions." (SUMMARY IN ENG)