The concept of Brain-Mind Capital integrates mental health and cognitive skills, recognising them as structural determinants of economic growth in knowledge-intensive economies.

To analyse the implications of the Brain Capital paradigm for the Italian labour market and to assess the role of the National Mental Health Plan (PANSM) 2025-2030 as an instrument of economic policy as well as health policy; introducing the concept of Brain-Mind Capital: the mind as a synthesising element of Brain-Mental Health Capital.

A narrative review of the international literature on Brain Capital, the burden of disease and the economic costs of mental health, supplemented by a policy analysis of the Italian context.

Mental and neurological disorders account for approximately 24% of the global burden of disease and generate economic costs estimated at between 3% and 4% of GDP in industrialised countries. The literature highlights a robust association between mental health, productivity, labour force participation and innovation. In Italy, stagnating productivity and demographic ageing amplify the systemic risk associated with the undervaluation of cognitive capital. The PANSM 2025-2030 represents an opportunity to integrate health policy and labour policy.

Investing in Brain-Mind Capital - that is, in universities, research centres, innovation, public-private partnerships and new knowledge-intensive technologies - constitutes a strategy for national and international competitiveness. Structural integration between mental health and labour policies is necessary to support growth, social cohesion and the sustainability of social security systems.