Making due allowances for differences in demographics, the labour market and internal migration dynamics, this study analyses the\ud
sustainability of the Italian pension balance at a regional level. A worsening of the elderly dependency ratio and a decline in birth and employment rates have generated a negative trend, particularly for regions in southern Italy, characterized by early retirement and an increase in migration outflows. The suggestion is that a decentralized pension policy is not a Pareto-efficient solution because it would favour the sustainability of the pension balance in northern regions over those in the South