Coping with uncertainty: managing the present, planning the future
Uncertainty has become a structural part of daily life. This lack of fixed points of reference is having a major impact on people’s lives as (…)Coping with uncertainty: managing the present, planning the future
Finance, business, territory: the role of Italian banking foundations
Italian banking foundations provide a virtuous model that is studied around the world. These private institutions, subsidiaries of both community and public bodies, have the (…)Finance, business, territory: the role of Italian banking foundations
Hi-tech sectors in Italy: a driver of growth
The United States/China rivalry that has dominated the international scenario for some years now, and its multiple economic and geopolitical effects, finds its foremost arena (…)Hi-tech sectors in Italy: a driver of growth
Focus on Industry: notes on Industry 5.0
The seminar focused on three dimensions where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is seen as having a significant impact on industry. The first of these was regulation. An element that emerged very clearly was the impossibility of treating the matter exclusively at local level and the concomitant need for a broad-based international level regulatory framework.
Global emergencies, new jobs, new training
Global emergencies and historic changes have combined to challenge contemporary economies and societies at an increasingly rapid rate. The impact of this on the work (…)Global emergencies, new jobs, new training
Challenges for businesses in Italy’s northeast
The importance of the Italian northeast to the nation’s overall economy is immediately evident from a glance at a map of nighttime illumination, which reveals a clear duality between this most luminous, and consequently most productive, portion of the country and the rest.
Culture, business and local development: a new soft power for Italy
Italy has a major competitive edge based not only on its unparalleled historic heritage but also on a deep-rooted tradition of knowhow that has long been a demonstration of a constant propensity for innovation
Design(ing) the future: technology, training, sustainability
The recent Milan Design Week celebrated the relaunch of the wood furniture industry, which is showing some significant signs of vitality in terms of growth and exports thanks to companies’ strong concentration on technology and sustainability.
Universities, Research, Intelligence: strengthening relations
The intelligence sector has undergone enormous transformations over recent years, spurred not least by an exponential increase in the availability of and access to data sources.
The future of the automotive industry: between innovation and transition
The changes underway in the automotive sector today are almost unique to that industry, in that they originate externally.
Aspen Collective Mind Seminar – Policies for relaunching the South
A nighttime satellite view of the European continent shows Italy, unlike all the other countries, as clearly divided in two: a brightly illuminated center-north – (…)Aspen Collective Mind Seminar – Policies for relaunching the South
Focus on Industry: resilience and recovery
The era of hyper-globalization that started back in the 1980s brought global production lines to geographic areas that offered lower production costs. However, over the (…)Focus on Industry: resilience and recovery
Design and Made in Italy: how to relaunch key sectors
The world needs to be reassessed. A design overhaul is called for, and this presents a unique opportunity for Italy. The post-pandemic recovery brought a major uptick in Italian exports, which are among the most diversified in the world for number of products. This is the result of a massive creative effort that is amply represented by the key sector of fine wood furniture. The efficiency of family-run businesses, the resilience of niche product leaders and diversification are all factors that contribute to the success of Italian design around the world.
Reform of the Procurement Code
The Procurement Code is primarily an instrument intended to facilitate the rapid, efficient and innovative execution of public works. The current Code, which dates back to 2016, has been the subject of continual reforms that have made it not only a never-ending story but also in some extremely important aspects an unfinished one. Examples include the digitalization and qualification of contracting authorities, the discipline of which still struggles to achieve full implementation.
Agro-industry and its challenges: investments, skills and technologies
The global food supply troubles did not start with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; there were numerous warnings over the two years of the pandemic, and even before that with the food crisis of 2008.
Taxation as a lever for development
Taxation is not only one of the pillars of modern democracy, but can also be a significant resource for development. This is even truer in our current post-pandemic phase, when governments are being called upon to undertake some major transformational processes.
Global Tax: business opportunities and challenges
Challenges for Italy’s foremost industries: innovation and sustainability
Italy’s 2021 economic recovery, an excellent sign for the future, was led especially by domestic consumption and other segments such as construction that enjoyed the benefits of fiscal incentives, and thus offers a good point of departure for 2022. This despite national and global level threats that include increased energy and raw materials prices, the slowdown triggered by the fourth pandemic wave, and bureaucratic snags that could obstruct the timely manufacture and consignment of the machinery needed for the digital transition.
New jobs = New (remote) training
New jobs and new training can form a virtuous cycle in which the market’s demand for innovative professional figures fuels the demand for training, which in turn generates new work profiles. The pandemic has hastened the switch to digital, the main driver of innovation in professional and training sectors alike.
New jobs = New training
Even before the pandemic hit, a general reconsideration was already underway of various ongoing global phenomena in labor, such as the rise of new professions, the globalization of job supply and increased international competition, along with the exponential spread of digital technologies and automation. The events of the past 18 months have served to accelerate these processes while at the same time also offering opportunities for significant intervention.
Making the most of Italy’s energy resources
The focus of both the G20 in Rome in October and of the COP26 in Glasgow in November was the energy transition. Italy continues to be an active participant in a debate that sheds light on the fact that the transition is not only energy-related, but also an economic, financial, social and cultural one.
Space: The new frontier for economy and research
The history of human presence in space consists mainly of two phases. The first of these, more political – and in hindsight, military – in nature, was entirely in the hands of the United States given the high cost of investments. In the second phase, which spawned the “new space economy”, has reduced government participation and opened the doors to private interests eager to offer auxiliary services to institutional operators as well as to develop new activities.
The rise of the silver economy
Population ageing is a global trend affecting all the world’s foremost economies. The phenomenon is have an especially significant impact on China and Europe and seems destined, along with the climate crisis, to be among the main generators of change in twenty-first century societies. Governments, citizens and the business community thus find themselves facing a range of challenges as well as a host of opportunities.
Digital markets and the real economy
Italian industry is compelled to face the prospect of a future digital market, along with the continuing paradigm shifts that technological transformation is imposing on the economic and social fabric. The radical transformation of manufacturing, consumption and habits is having a significant impact not only on daily activities but also on the capacity for near-future analysis and forecast.
Global trade and protectionism: a new balance post-Covid
The pandemic has not halted global trade and, with recovery now in sight, the data offer an encouraging picture. Nevertheless, the scenario has changed dramatically. The globalization of the 1990s and the early 2000s have given way to a global fragmentation that has led various countries to reinforce bonds with historic allies and trusted partners.
Post pandemic Italy’s banking sector: new challenges, new opportunities for the real economy
As it leaves the health emergency behind, Italy is focusing on economic recovery. The European resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan offer major opportunities in a shifting scenario. On the one hand, the crisis was not the result of structural problems, but rather due to a situation created by the pandemic; this means that, despite the difficulties of this forced arrest, reviving the economic machine should not be too problematic. On the other hand, however, these long months of inactivity have compromised the financial situation of many firms.
The Power of Resilience in a Changing World
Globalization, new technologies, social media, migrations, racial tensions, and now the Covid-19 pandemic, have completely changed the face of society and are revolutionizing the business world for large and small firms alike. The pandemic, in particular, has sorely tested our systems’ capacity for resilience and foregrounded many fragilities, not only from a financial standpoint, but also in a more sweeping sense that encompasses public health, the environment, employment security and social equilibrium.
A recipe to relaunch Italy’s economy
Italy must not underestimate the challenge of generating economic recovery using Next Generation EU resources. Europe, after so many years of hesitancy, made a decided shift in gears when it reached out to the market to collect the funds for reconstruction. It is now up to individual countries to submit credible recovery plans. There are various glitches to be resolved when it comes to the Italian situation – first among them being to formulate a consistent vision of the country’s future.
Southern Italy: the key to relaunching the Italian economy?
Southern Italy needs a new vision for the future built on consideration of its system strongpoints and on a deeper scrutiny of its problems, with a view to identifying alternative proposals focused on the competitive capacity of those regions, with the goal of improving the business environment.
Generational turnover in Italy
Business is the fundamental agent in the recovery of an economy struck as dramatically by the pandemic as Italy’s has been. To determine whether that recovery will be a success we need to consider the system’s economic armature of countless small and medium-sized family-run enterprises. Today’s generational hand-over becomes even more important than it has been over recent decades. At stake is the result of the major challenges awaiting national manufacturing: the digital transformation and the environmental transition.
Building an interconnected society: infrastructure, investment, innovation and integration
The pandemic has had a considerable impact on lifestyles, both temporarily and longer term (structurally). Even after the arrival of an anti-coronavirus vaccine, an interconnected society is going to have to recuperate a good number of physical living spaces in order to get back to “normal”. That means fewer distance-based activities, some of which, however, are bound to remain useful and will tend to be employed more as we move forward than they were in pre-emergency times.
How the audiovisual industry can stimulate economic growth and social cohesion
The Covid-19 emergency has hit the audio-visual sector at a moment of profound transition, and has accelerated a series of trends. The lockdown has had a noteworthy impact on the production of digital content that has run parallel to a sharp rise in web use. On-demand platforms have seen a spike in subscriptions, while television networks have had to face a slump in advertising revenue with the suspension of some important sources of programming, such as sports events.
Government, finance and business team up on economic recovery and competitiveness
Italia ed Europa stanno provando a superare la fase dell’emergenza legata alla pandemia di coronavirus. Si tratta di un frangente delicato in cui gli Stati, le banche e le imprese devono lavorare insieme per lasciare alle spalle la crisi e costruire una “nuova normalità”. Se in questo momento la priorità è offrire liquidità alle imprese e gli strumenti messi in campo sono le moratorie, le garanzie pubbliche e il sostegno del canale bancario, nel futuro diventerà cruciale riparare ai danni creati dal virus e sostenere la capitalizzazione delle aziende.
AI: a new alliance between technology, business and society
The Artificial Intelligence debate, which started back in the 1950s, has become particularly topical today. The benefits of AI are recognized as undeniable but, at the same time, there is growing fear and resistance owing to the evolution of the man/machine – or subject/tool – relationship.
Foreign investments as a driver of growth in Italy
Italy has great potential to attract investments but many factors still hinder the influx of foreign capital. Data on the presence of multinationals offer a mottled picture. As regards the manufacturing sector, the more important of the second ranked European industrial power, nearly 20% of employees answer to foreign multinationals, a percentage that rises to 25% in the field of mechanical engineering, the pride of the “made in Italy” brand.
Labour market: innovation and skills development
The global economy is undergoing deep and rapid changes that are revolutionizing how production is organized. The very concept of the “job market” seems outdated in a world where skills are increasingly becoming the real currency. If the most innovative firms’ main demand is for talent, however, it is impossible to imagine a future without policies tailored to the transition that the majority of workers are going to have to face as they adapt to the continuing changes imposed by digitalization.
The requalification of industrial areas in crisis: a vision for the future.
The crises of 2008 and 2011 had a greater impact on Umbria than they did on other parts of Italy and Europe. Conditions had already begun to deteriorate in the early 2000s, creating a division between Umbria, a region with a great manufacturing tradition, and the wealthier parts of the country. The study presented at the conference cited microeconomic data about the origins of the crisis and highlighted a sharp polarization of companies’ competitiveness.
Efficiency, innovation and sustainability in the water industry
Water is an undeniable human right essential to the life and health of all citizens. Its distribution, however, is a complex process that presupposes the existence of a proper industrial sector equipped to deliver it from the supply source to the private home while maintaining high standards of quality and service.