The opening premise of this roundtable discussion was that a differential of more than ten percentage points has separated Italy from the average growth rate of the eurozone countries over the last 10 years. Whilst the growth rates of some of these countries have now been revealed as unsustainable, based as they were on an escalation in private and/or public borrowings, it was acknowledged that a comparison with the growth of more virtuous countries, such as Germany and, in particular, France, is still unfavorable to Italy. This lag is partly due to the problems that beset southern Italy (the so-called Mezzogiorno), which today finds itself in circumstances dangerously similar to those afflicting Greece, and by many standards, in a significantly weaker position.
Yet Italy suffers from other drawbacks as well, which also affect the regions of the North, including a poor capacity for innovation, delays in the administration of justice, excessive fragmentation among businesses, and unfavorable demographic trends. Inadequate levels of infrastructure also hold the country back. According to the World Economic Forum, Italy is currently ranked 72 out of 133 countries in terms of quality of overall infrastructure, a fact that impacts extremely negatively on business competitiveness. One need only consider Italy’s logistical costs, for instance, which are 30% higher than those of its European competitors, whilst the cost of electricity is 25% higher. The participants thus stressed the importance of finding a way to fast-track public investment, with priority being accorded to new infrastructure projects. To this end, public procurement timeframes must also be reduced.
It was acknowledged, however, that Italy also has considerable strengths on which to draw, including a large number of highly successful medium-sized firms, whose performance stems from well-honed entrepreneurial skills and a business strategy based on a combination of innovation and internationalization. Their example, it was felt, should be held up as a model to be emulated, with a view to extending the range of successful Italian businesses. Indeed, Italy’s top firms are currently too heavily concentrated in certain very specific areas of the country, whilst remaining scarce in large urban centers and in the South. The general consensus was that market-leading Italian businesses could provide the necessary platform for accelerated growth, serving as the focal point for poles of agglomeration towards which resources as well as tax incentives could be channeled. It was in any case observed that the South’s very weaknesses could be turned into a strength, if – based also on a move towards fiscal federalism – mechanisms are put in place to close the gap with the North.
A further strength recalled during the roundtable is that Italy boasts one of the highest levels of household wealth in the world. In this regard, the participants emphasized that it was crucial to come up with ways of tapping into these abundant financial resources, so as to generate new revenue streams and transform wealth into productive investments. The powerful forces of social cohesion at work in Italian society provide yet another of the country’s strengths, which contributes to reducing “fear of the future” and hence encourages risk-taking, a trait which itself translates into a correspondingly high rate of entrepreneurship.
In conclusion, the participants noted that Italy’s favorable geographic location also numbers amongst its strong points. Indeed, changes in world trade flows, which are increasingly directed towards Europe from Asia, have provided Italy with an unassailable competitive advantage as a logistics platform.