Anatomy of the Italian occupational structure: concentrated power and distributed knowledge
Which type of work do Italians perform? In this contribution, we aim at detecting the anatomy of the
Italian occupational structure by taking stock of a micro-level dataset registering the task content, the
execution of procedures, the knowledge embedded in the work itself, called ICP (Indagine
Campionaria sulle Professioni), the latter being comparable to the U.S. O*NET dataset. We perform
an extensive empirical investigation moving from the micro to the macro level of aggregation. Our
results show that the Italian occupational structure is strongly hierarchical, with the locus of power
distinct by the locus of knowledge generation. It is also weak in terms of collaborative and worker in-
volvement practices, and possibility to be creative. Our analysis allows to pinpoint the role exerted by
hierarchical structures, decision-making autonomy, and knowledge as the most relevant attributes
characterizing the division of labor.