Maria Rita Pierleoni 
(Council of Ministers, Department of Economic Planning, Italy)

Abstract: Inequality and migration flows are two phenomena correlated, because people, that decides to migrate, are driven by a perception of relative deprivation with respect to other individuals or groups of individuals which live in other places. This work analyzes the multidimensional nature and implications of these two phenomena which characterize complex societies. Moreover it discusses: a) the meaning of “complexity” for defining advanced societies and b) the weaknesses of economic science relatively to an inadequate consideration of phenomena as inequalities and migration which are driven by individual and collective choice. Indeed traditional economic theories have been focused on the study of the “effects” of individual and collective choices, disregarding in particular the following aspects: i) the feelings, human behaviors, reasons and origins of social phenomena and ii) the interaction effects between the members of a society. In the paper are presented also new social and economic research strands which study the determinants of human behavior. The paper argues the importance of an active and effective role of the national and supranational institutions, with the aim to implement appropriate policies for reducing inequality. It discusses also the role of European Institutions in managing the recent migration flows.

Key words: inequality; migration flows; complex system; implementing policies; European institutions

         JEL codes: A11, A12, I30, I31, Z13, Z18