The book provides an up-to-date analytical and empirical treatment of some
important interactions between paid and unpaid labour and the social economy.
The emphasis on the motivations for paid and unpaid labour, and on how these
factors contribute to efficiently providing social services, gives a clear
empirical counterpart to the concept of social economy. The book begins with a
theoretical perspective on the development and characteristics of paid and
unpaid labour in social services. Several empirical analyses, largely using
novel data sets, are then provided about these phenomena in Italy, a country
which has drawn broad international attention in this field, as well as in other
European countries