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National Programs

  • Rome
    • 10 July 2014
     
     

    The “abuse of rights” in public finance administration and tax law

      Discussions at this National Roundtable commenced with a reference to the old cartographic practice of marking unknown and dangerous lands with the expression “Hic sunt leones”. It was suggested that, today, the same could be done if charting a hypothetical map of business taxation in Italy: an insidious terra incognita in which that peculiar invention of the judiciary known as “abuse of rights” generates confusion and uncertainty.

    • Milan
      • 3 February 2014
       
       

      Artists and artisans: the excellence of “Made in Italy”

        The debate at this national roundtable got underway with the observation that tapping into knowledge that has always existed in Italy to revive Italian arts and crafts industries is a key priority for the country given that, in the current difficult climate, they could serve as important drivers of economic development and growth. It was noted that there is a peculiar symbiosis in Italy between the manufacturing industry and arts and crafts.

      • Rome
        • 24 September 2014
         
         

        Reforming Italy’s public administration to spur competitiveness

          The participants at this National Roundtable viewed as telling that in the nigh-on seventy-year history of the Italian Republic, there have been several instances of eminent figures such as Guido Carli expressing grave concerns regarding the state of the country’s public administration. Today, after a protracted period characterized by a lack of continuity in the political and governmental helmsmanship of the state apparatus, the prevailing sense is that of an institutional and procedural milieu bereft of political leadership.

        • Rome
          • 19 March 2014
           
           

          Of virtue and necessity: privatization to spur growth in Italy

            Proceedings at this national roundtable got underway with participants observing that Italy periodically looks to privatization as a means to restoring the fragile fortunes of its public finances. Yet while the increasingly straitened condition of these finances is what gives rise, from time to time, to the need to engage in such sell-offs, privatization cannot and should not merely entail a quick grab for cash. Indeed, the roundtable saw a number of different aspects of privatization discussed.

          • Milan
            • 24 November 2014
             
             

            Economic crises in a globalized world: new ways to finance businesses

              Setting the backdrop for discussions at this National Roundtable session were the latest global liquidity indicators produced by the Bank for International Settlements, according to which credit at a global level is in abundant supply, risk appetite is strengthening, and credit conditions are loosening. This, again pursuant to the Bank for International Settlements, is favoring the growth of debt issuance and loans over bank-intermediated cross-border funding. The private equity sector has also been picking up since 2013.

            • Rome
              • 21 May 2014
               
               

              How the audiovisual industry can stimulate economic and cultural growth in Europe

                Conservation vs. change, protection vs. openness, and domestic focus vs. global reach: these juxtapositions prompted participants at this national roundtable to highlight that a cursory examination of the public debate over the prospects of the Italian audiovisual industry would seem to reflect – if not reduce it to – a simplistic dichotomy between old and new market players.

              • Milan
                • 10 November 2014
                 
                 

                Expo 2015: Italy’s food and agriculture industry and global markets

                  Kick-starting discussions at this national conference was the observation that with a turnover of 132 billion euro and a workforce of 385,000 people, the food industry confirmed its position in 2013 as a leading sector of the Italian economy, holding up well against cyclical pressures despite the difficulties.

                • Milan
                  • 9 June 2014
                   
                   

                  The Italian luxury goods industry: cultural and manufacturing aspects

                    The participants at this national roundtable noted, by way of opening premise, that the luxury and high-end markets represent a worldwide business worth 730 billion dollars. The sub-segment of personal luxury goods – valued at 230 billion dollars – sees Italy and France as joint market leaders, each having a share worth more than 50 billion dollars.

                  • Milan
                    • 20 October 2014
                     
                     

                    Helping Italian SMEs compete on global markets

                      Kick-starting this national roundtable event was the observation that the question of the competitiveness of Italian firms in global markets can be summed up in the indisputable if somewhat simplified proposition that while exports alone are not enough to get by on, they are nevertheless vital for survival. It was noted that the longstanding issue of the internationalization of Italian SMEs has been a subject of public debate for decades, in parallel with the escalation of globalization and the technological revolution.

                    • Milan
                      • 3 November 2014
                       
                       

                      How important is big data for business and society?

                        320 times greater than the store of knowledge kept in the legendary Library of Alexandria, and representing a mass of data which, if stored on DVDs stacked on top of each other, would cover five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon and back again: it was in these terms that participants at this national roundtable described the wealth of knowledge that forms the preserve of contemporary man, and which, evocative analogies aside, comprises the extraordinary body of information commonly known as big data.

                      • Milan
                        • 20 January 2014
                         
                         

                        “Mediacracy”: how media and politics interact

                          The participants at this national roundtable noted that, since its very beginnings, the story of the media has been interwoven with power (and the ability to call it to account). This was the case of the first gazettes to emerge in the seventeenth century in various European cities, though it was felt that other crucial milestones on this journey are also worth remembering, such as Voltaire’s “Treatise on Tolerance“, which, through an indictment not at all far removed from that of modern media campaigns, achieved important results for eighteenth-century French society.

                        • Rome
                          • 16 April 2014
                           
                           

                          Preventing, insuring and managing natural disasters

                            Discussions at this National Roundtable session opened with the observation that, due to its natural characteristics and anthropological factors, Italy may be considered as being exposed to a high level of disaster risk. As a preliminary step towards putting the phenomenon in context, the participants felt it useful to cite a number of statistics. Since 1900, earthquakes have caused around 160,000 deaths in Italy, while since the Second World War alone, there have been 1,061 lethal landslides, and at least 672 fatal floods.

                          • Rome
                            • 23 October 2013
                             
                             

                            Charity and the global economy: in search of a new model

                              Discussions at this national roundtable session got underway with the opening premise that the economic crisis and its social consequences have profoundly called into question the prevailing economic paradigm – a model based on competitive individualism, maximizing the profit of the individual, and an “invisible hand” regulating the market. The result is that the idea of the common interest merely being the sum of individual interests no longer seems sustainable in the current economic and social climate.

                            • Milan
                              • 18 March 2013
                               
                               

                              A multidisciplinary culture to build a new future: knowledge, capacity to change, responsibility

                                Discussions at this roundtable got underway with the observation that five years of crisis – triggered by the collapse of the financial sector and constantly compounded by (public and private) financial difficulties – have forced a rethink of the role of industry, which is now called on once again to become an engine of growth. Indeed, the need for a different economic vision, one which combines the kind of tangible and intangible values needed to kick-start new sustainable growth – has seen the production system return to center stage.

                              • Rome
                                • 27 March 2013
                                 
                                 

                                The security sector: protecting Italy and its businesses

                                  The opening premise at this National Conference on the important economic role played by Italy’s intelligence services was that, in a globally competitive marketplace, intelligence information is a vital – albeit not the only – underpinning for the realization of any country’s potential for development and success.

                                • Milan
                                  • 17 June 2013
                                   
                                   

                                  E‐commerce, security, distribution channels: opportunities and challenges for businesses and consumers

                                    At this national roundtable discussion, it was observed that the global phenomenon known as e-commerce is bringing about a paradigm shift in distribution models for products and services. In a scenario of constantly increasing online sales, growth in this sector seems unlikely to slow down, thanks also to the spread of new technologies – such as smartphones and tablets – that are making the consumer experience even more effortless. Globally, the number of cell phones far exceeds not only that of televisions, but also mundane everyday items such as toothbrushes.

                                  • Rome
                                    • 19 April 2013
                                     
                                     

                                    Italian talent abroad

                                      Kicking off discussions at this National Interest event was the assertion that innovation is a complex ecosystem – an Amazonian forest in which every actor has a different role to play, but where the contribution of each is essential. While scientific and technological research is a key driver of innovation, it is not the only one. Also required is the input of public and private actors, big business and small pioneering start-ups, venture capitalists and deep and liquid stock markets, and young innovators with entrepreneurial flair and well-established mentors.

                                    • Milan
                                      • 4 November 2013
                                       
                                       

                                      Does Italy’s important industrial sector still have a future?

                                        Participants at this roundtable session were of a consensus that Italy still has an effective industrial system, and may continue to do so as long as a major restructure is undertaken so as to provide a boost for a great swathe of firms that are currently wavering between the boon of opportunities offered by global growth and the risk of being marginalized.