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National Programs

  • Milan
    • 26 September 2011
     
     

    Venture capital and start-ups: boosting innovation and youth employment

      The participants at this roundtable session observed that Italy has long been a country that, paradoxically, is brimming with ideas yet marked by scant innovation and little skilled employment for the young talent chiefly responsible for these ideas. The abundant and inexpensive intellectual resources on hand are held back by a combination of a poor aptitude for project creation and poor communication among the various actors who are in a position to ensure that good ideas translate into great innovations.

    • Milan
      • 2 May 2011
       
       

      The new media, the power of information and business

        Underpinning the discussions at this Aspen national roundtable session on “The new media, the power of information and business” was the notion that the internet could serve as a driver of growth in Italy on the condition that the internet economy bears part of the massive costs associated with its own development. Recent studies were cited which estimate that the internet economy in Italy today accounts for 2% of the country’s gross domestic product, with expected growth margins by 2015 of between 3.3% and 4.3%.

      • Milan
        • 18 April 2011
         
         

        Investing in stocks, controlling company shares and corporate governance

          Paving the way for discussions at this National Roundtable session was the acknowledgement that in a climate where globalization processes are playing an increasingly more central role in Italy’s social and economic development, Italian firms also need to gear themselves up to being more globally competitive. Achieving this objective, it was suggested, brings with it a renewed need for financing or refinancing of many of the country’s firms and banks.

        • Cernobbio
          • 11 March 2011
           
           

          Italian leaders abroad

            International openness and the circulation of people and talent during key stages of professional training and development were the central topics of discussion at this Third Conference on “Italian leaders abroad”.

          • Rome
            • 18 May 2011
             
             

            Italy’s savings: how to make it work for the country’s development and well-being

              Opening the discussion at this National Roundtable was the observation that Italy’s stock of personal savings continues to highlight its strong position as a country with among the highest per-capita net worth in the world. Nevertheless, it was acknowledged that in order to give a complete picture of the situation, two areas in which Italy diverges from, in particular, other major European countries, need to be considered.

            • Milan
              • 22 February 2010
               
               

              Increasing Italy’s exports

                The roundtable got underway with an examination of the twofold characterization of Italian exports that has, for over a decade, been a core theme in public debate over the competitiveness of the Italian economy in the age of globalization – one which sees exports both as a driver of Italy’s growth and, at the same time, as a reflection of the outward-looking nature of the Italian production system.

              • Rome
                • 17 March 2010
                 
                 

                Moving people: how to improve competitiveness, efficiency, and quality

                  The roundtable participants began their examination of the mobility issues affecting Italy today with the observation that, last year alone, Italian households spent on average more than 35 billion euro on getting from one place to another. Also in 2009, the cost of congestion in metropolitan areas was around 9 billion euro. Just in Rome, for example, fuel consumption totaled between 12-15 million euro in the same year – to which must be added the costs generated by rising pollution in cities and areas beyond city limits, as well as by road traffic accidents.

                • Milan
                  • 20 September 2010
                   
                   

                  Italy’s savings: how to make it work for the country’s development

                    The Conference got underway with an acknowledgement that savings have played a key role in maintaining Italy’s stability during the more acute phases of the recent financial crisis, and may play an even more important role now as a driver of the country’s economic recovery and growth.

                  • Milan
                    • 3 May 2010
                     
                     

                    The economic dimension of crime

                      The roundtable session opened with an acknowledgement by participants that the processes of globalization have made the fight against crime more complicated. Criminal activities have spread worldwide, expanding with the internationalization of trade and growth in migration flows. At the same time, however, organized crime has maintained a strong local flavor, due to its embeddedness in local communities and its permeation into the fabric of society.

                    • Milan
                      • 5 July 2010
                       
                       

                      Artists and artisans: resources for Italian workers

                        The roundtable session got underway with an acknowledgement by the participants of the crucial importance of reviving Italy’s artisan culture – a tradition synonymous with the production of high-quality goods through the accumulation, pooling and dissemination of know-how.

                      • Rome
                        • 24 November 2010
                         
                         

                        The economic value of Italy’s cultural patrimony

                          The discussion at this roundtable session got underway with the incisive observation that managing and exploiting a vast and valuable cultural heritage requires a well-thought-out cultural policy, and a continual balance to be struck between preservation and economic development, between making use of this asset and ensuring it is not “used up”, and between the conservation of ancient artistic works and nurturing contemporary art.

                        • Milan
                          • 27 September 2010
                           
                           

                          SMEs: growth and collaboration in a new global scenario

                            More than three years after the outbreak of the crisis which engulfed the world economy, Italian businesses have shown that they have, on the whole, withstood the impact of the economic and financial tsunami. The country remains the fifth-ranking global manufacturing power and the second in Europe after Germany, running counter to the trend that has seen a progressive reduction in the market shares of traditional industrial economies – the US and Japan in particular.

                          • Milan
                            • 26 July 2010
                             
                             

                            New international strategies to support Italian business

                              The financial crisis has considerably modified the environment in which Italian firms operate. It has introduced new problems in the export sector that are related not only to structural changes in the capital markets but also to difficulties in accessing credit.

                            • Milan
                              • 15 November 2010
                               
                               

                              Italy’s demographic trends: problems and opportunities

                                Proceedings at this roundtable session got underway with the participants observing that an aging population, immigration and the brain drain are issues that Italy needs to address by looking to the future as well as at the past. Indeed, the current state of affairs is the product of previous trends. In decades gone by, there was a surplus of births over deaths and a negative migration balance, but today that situation has been reversed.

                              • Rome
                                • 21 January 2010
                                 
                                 

                                Finding alternative indicators of well-being and growth in Italy

                                  The debate over the need to broaden the scope of economic indicators – and more particularly, moving beyond measurements of GDP – has inspired a wide range of studies on the topic both in Italy and abroad. This roundtable event examined a recent Aspen Institute Italia-Fondazione Edison study entitled “Italy in the new geo-economy of the G-20”, which aims to contribute further to this discussion. The study reveals an Italy that is better-placed than indicated by traditional rankings and compares favorably with other industrialized economies in numerous fields.

                                • Milan
                                  • 2 February 2009
                                   
                                   

                                  Reforming market capitalism

                                    The participants at this roundtable were deeply critical of the lack of transparency in the international financial system, the product of an out-of-control laissez-faire capitalism and a global lex mercatoria that has swept aside traditional capitalist organizational forms and the regulatory functions of public authorities.

                                  • Rome
                                    • 11 March 2009
                                     
                                     

                                    Reforming public administration and simplifying procedures: beating the odds

                                      The participants at this conference observed that, irrespective of the kind of institutional set-up a particular country may have, the public administration is the bridge between administrators and the administered. An efficient and modern public administration ceases to be a mere cost and becomes an asset for the productive system and a means for improving the quality of life of citizens and families.

                                    • Milan
                                      • 16 March 2009
                                       
                                       

                                      Low cost – high value: a new business model

                                        Discussion at this roundtable event got underway with the participants citing recent figures indicating that 70% of Italians anticipate they will have to cut down on spending in 2009. The figure was 21% in 2001, 29% in 2002 and 42% in 2004. At a time of international crisis, this growing trend is forcing businesses to rethink their business models.

                                      • Cernobbio
                                        • 27 September 2009
                                         
                                         

                                        Italian successes and talented operators around the world

                                          The experience gained by Italians around the world, the challenges that will need to be faced to build global skills, and the ability of the national economy to operate as a global actor are all aspects of a single issue, namely: how to make the most of overseas Italian talent. Talented Italians are finding it increasingly easier to emigrate rather than build reasonable career prospects for themselves at home.

                                        • Milan
                                          • 19 January 2009
                                           
                                           

                                          Public investment to reinforce the real economy

                                            In the history of any country, there are phases where it is necessary to build and phases where wealth produced needs to be distributed. Italy, hit by the international crisis, finds itself in the former condition and aims to bolster its economy by building new infrastructure and, in the process, create jobs and facilitate the movement of people and goods.