ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on changes of social policies in Italy in recent years, also in the wake of the economic crisis and the austerity measures implemented. A specific policy field will be analysed: long-term care (LTC) for dependent elderly people. The importance of LTC is increasing in Italy and in the wider European context, given structural transformations which have affected both the socio-demographic dimension (ageing population, changes in the family structure) and the socioeconomic one (for instance, increasing female participation in the labour market).
