In the present difficult macroeconomic scenario, enacting a federalist transformation of the financial relations between the state and local government is a preordained occasion to improve the quality of administrative action; at the same time improving public expenditures according to principles of transparency, efficiency and responsibility.
Italy’s energy system is marked by a production mixture heavily tilted in the direction of the more expensive energy sources, oil and gas, and – almost without exception – by its dependence on fuel imports. It is therefore incapable of supporting the country’s development. In comparison to its European neighbors, Italy is paying for years of delay in the development of infrastructures, to the point where today it is paying an extremely high energy bill, with serious damage to the competitiveness of our businesses.
The international financial crisis and its impact on the real economy have increased the need for decisive, coordinated action by international bodies, the EU and individual nations. The greatest concern is the existence of “panic” and “lack of trust” in the markets, which is indeed what is undermining the real economy all over the world. Many maintain that, in order to restore faith in the markets and therefore face the crisis, on one hand domestic consumption must be stimulated. On the other hand, an increase in the public demand is needed for investments in infrastructures.
The seventh Annual Conference for the Aspen Junior Fellows was dedicated to the topic of the city, in the year in which, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, as indicated in the United Nations Population Fund Report. The timeliness of this issue is confirmed by the theme of the 2010 Shanghai Expo: Better City, Better Life. By holding the conference in Milan, the challenges faced by the experimental city in its preparations for the 2015 Milan Expo were highlighted.
International public opinion has a well-defined image for every country. These impressions, often stereotypes, are influenced by centuries of history, the territory’s formation, the way its citizens behave, and even by chance. They tend to give preference to secondary aspects that have simply had a stronger impact on the collective imagination.
The global financial crisis will have a major impact on the future of all of Italy’s economic system, particularly the utilities sector. Adopting an evolved Keynesian approach – above all for large infrastructures – could play a crucial role in increasing the country system’s competitiveness. The resumption of large public works – which should begin soon to help deal with this cycle of economic recession – should include identifying some extensive strategic works on which finances should be concentrated.
The seminar dealt with the issues of the Mezzogiorno from the viewpoint of the economic, social and institutional aspects of National Interest.
Moreover, the theme of Italy’s Mezzogiorno does not easily lend itself to any sort of sweeping analysis. There are increasing instances of areas of high economic and technological development in Southern Italy, where even local governments have shown signs of operating effectively.
The seminar dealt with the main challenges that the Italian economic system is facing in this difficult chapter marked by the international financial crisis, of systemic origin, whose extent and length have yet to be determined.
The debate devoted to globalisation, as it evolved, naturally shifted its focus on financial crisis even though the analysis of the short-term aspects were quickly overcome by the medium- and long-term ones. The central question referred to the nature of the crisis: is it to be considered a cyclical or a structural change? Agreeing on the second scenario would mean that we are witnessing the breakdown of an established model and the end of capitalism and globalisation as we know it.
The 13th annual conference of the Friends of Aspen opened with a tribute to the recently deceased President of the Friends of Aspen, Mr Ennio Presutti. For the first time, the conference was held in Rome. Within the context of small and medium enterprise, the debate centered on the issue of how to foster and maintain competitiveness in a heightened geopolitical and geoeconomic context, whilst taking into account Italian national and European-level regulatory aspects.
By the year 2030, worldwide energy consumption, spurred by economic development in such highly populated countries as China and India, might well be 50% greater than today’s levels. Fossil fuels will continue to play a key role and hydrocarbons will be called upon to satisfy more than half the world’s demand for energy. The concentration of oil and natural gas reserves in areas of the planet that suffer from political instability complicates the scenario. Many important questions remain on the sustainability front as far as energy supply is concerned.
The current financial crisis has lasted longer and been more damaging than expected, revealing the extent of market failure. The rule-free market era is over. No longer does anyone believe the “solid” economy – especially real estate – will turn into a “liquid” economy, thanks to deregulation. Widespread digital technology – a fundamental resource in globalization – does not help sell “toxic” shares: uncertainty about their worth only worsens the crisis.
The upshot of this debate was that the church has every right to participate in a public debate, but the state must remain secular. Laws cannot respect only certain citizens’ beliefs, but must hold true for everyone. Therefore, a new balance must be struck between religion and politics, especially on those issues that touch people in the XXI century so closely.
Demographic waves, technological innovation and citizens’ expectations: these are today’s major challenges. And, in the years to come, healthcare will become an increasingly important issue in all major countries with advanced economies and welfare systems. In the Italian system, the healthcare challenge is particularly crucial as it represents the largest public expenditure after pensions. Healthcare and pensions absorb all those resources that could be made available for other social policies.
Affirming values in an abstract way is a facile exercise; practicing and respecting values demands commitment and clear terms of reference. Such guidelines can only exist within a context of confrontation between secular values and religious ethics, the meeting point of the two representing a universal value system.
The concept of “human security” revolves around bettering overall conditions – not just security but economic conditions – for people in a crisis or post-conflict area. It demands, therefore, the setting of different priorities as regards more traditional concepts of national security, state building and nation building.
Bilateral relations between Italy and Israel have intensified recently, producing some promising results, though, for the big strategic questions and economic issues, broader EU involvement is key. Partially due to 9/11, interest in the underlying motives behind problems in the Middle East and Mediterranean region has grown, and increased attention has revealed the importance of social factors and domestic policy. Such an approach highlights the singular characteristics of Israel, a country which stands out as a sort of outpost for the West in the region.
Without denying the status of banks as fully-fledged businesses yet reaffirming their intrinsic difference to any other type of entrepreneurial undertaking, participants at this roundtable discussion called for banks to go back to conducting “traditional” banking activities.
