Italy’s recovery and resilience plan: how to strengthen and accelerate the implementation phase
After two years of planning, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) has reached the point of implementation, with distributions going to local agencies that are now tasked with administering the funds. This undertaking is not devoid of problems associated with technical and administrative capacities. While on the one hand Italy is among the countries leading the definition of objectives and requesting installments from Europe, at the same time it is saddled with the age-old difficulty getting projects off the ground; indeed, according to a government update, only 15 billion of the 39 billion allotted has been spent.
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
Infrastructures to drive competitiveness, resilience and innovation
Large-scale events are undoubtedly an opportunity to plan medium to long-term infrastructure investments. Similarly, the PNRR can be viewed as a sort of large-scale event ready to reap the benefits of Italy’s experience hosting past events, with keen attention to both positive and negative results.
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.
Too much bureaucracy? Answers and solutions
Aspen Institute Italia promotes continuous analyses and proposals on the effectiveness and efficiency of the public administration (1). This roundtable offered an opportunity to present the Aspen Collective Mind research paper “Promoting international experience in Italy’s public administration”.
Twenty years of the euro: triumphs, problems, prospects
The euro is celebrating its first twenty years as a success but also in the awareness that much remains to be done. The overwhelming majority of European citizens consider the single currency a part of their identity and view it favorably; surely, the introduction of the euro simplified economic and commercial activities. Yet, not to be underestimated is the problem it created, particularly for a country like Italy, by eliminating the possibility of using exchange rates as a competitive devaluation tool.
Western Balkan countries’ integration in the EU: the case for Kosovo
The process of EU enlargement has been a major political and strategic success, but it is facing growing problems such as capacity for integration and political consensus among current members.
Time for optimism
Marco Alverà
CEO, Snam
evento correlato: The economics of climate change: a joint agenda between US and Europe
Covid: a ten years crisis
Oksana Antonenko
Director at the Global Risk Analysis team, Control Risks Group
evento correlato: Assessing risk: intersection of global economy and geopolitics
A new European migration policy
Margaritis Schinas
Vice President, European Commission
evento correlato: Flussi migratori in tempo di pandemia: esperienze acquisite e nuovi strumenti per una migliore gestione del fenomeno
Let’s speak about the future
Ilaria Capua
Director, One Health Center of Excellence, University of Florida
evento correlato: Global Health Security and its impact on the Economy: a global responsibility
Pandemics and the impact on development and stability
Peter Sands
Executive Director, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tubercolosis and Malaria
evento correlato: Global Health Security and its impact on the Economy: a global responsibility
Recovery from the pandemic and challenges for the G20
Emanuela del Re
Vice Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rome
evento correlato: Global Health Security and its impact on the Economy: a global responsibility
The decline of the West? The dilemma of liberal democracies
What is waning more in the West, civility or democracy? There has been talk for a century now of Western “decline”, understood as demographic and economic, but also the decline of fundamental values such as freedom, democracy and openness. Interpretations have gone so far as to speak of a broad decline in moral values. It can be seen as the beginning of a different perception of the world’s diversities.
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.
The post-Covid economic paradigm: the future of work and business
Aspenia 94 (in Italian), entitled “I nuovi dopoguerra”, analyzes the many complexities of the international economic picture. It is possible that the post-Covid era will open up scenarios similar to those of the 1970s, or even something resembling the “roaring Twenties” and its tragic epilogue, the Great Depression of 1929.
Economic growth and consumption: how to relaunch demand
The Covid-19 pandemic has radically modified the consumer industry over the last 18 months. If, in a first phase, we saw the acceleration of trends that were already widespread, such as e-commerce, over time we witnessed the rise of new priorities, generally viewed as secondary in the pre-pandemic phase, including, but not limited to, the protection of the environment and the physical and mental well-being of the person.
Italy 2040: a new social contract to weather the crisis
The United States-China face-off is surely going to dominate in the near future. Washington now considers the bid to involve China in a liberal order, which Beijing itself has deemed illegitimate, a lost cause. Thus, in order to prevent the confrontation from becoming a conflict – or even war – it is going to be necessary to establish some collaborative terrain on global issues in a context otherwise dominated by sharp contrasts. It is not the Congress but rather the American economic world that interacts and is heavily interdependent with the Chinese economy.
Why post-covid recovery needs women Empowerment, financing and rights
Post-covid recovery needs women. Women’s empowerment is pivotal to tapping our society’s potential and meeting the challenges of the coming years. The digital revolution and the ecological transition are processes poised to stimulate the raising of a new development model above the wreckage the pandemic will have left behind. The need to draft new paradigms is precisely what makes diversity and broader vision at all levels, starting with decision makers, fundamental.
Digital Platforms
The digital revolution has profoundly changed how goods and services are consumed by increasing their availability online, thereby enhancing the role of web platforms. Indeed, these latter have been an essential tool for extending political rights such as freedom of speech, and for framing new ones, especially within the economic sphere, such as consumer rights. At the same time, however, they have laid the groundwork for a concentration of overriding powers, and the abuse of those powers.
Foreign policy: a lever for economic development
Today’s international scenario is distinguished by a strong interdependence of foreign policy and domestic priorities, particularly as a lever for economic development. The pandemic has once again confirmed the need for broad multilateral cooperation in the spirit of “build back better”. This in terms of sustainable transition (production as well as consumption) and fairness, along with the management of regional and global conflicts and tensions.