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National Programs

  • 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.

        • Roma
          • 22 January 2014
           
           

          Suggestions for Italy’s spending review

            This national roundtable discussion got underway with the observation that at the heart of Italy’s spending review is the idea of reducing expenditure for the purpose of rebalancing public finances or achieving other priority objectives such as alleviating the tax burden – a concept which, in reality, is not entirely new in Italy. Indeed, soon after the unification of the Kingdom of Italy, the Historical Right (to which Sella belonged) was engaged in a process of rationalizing expenditure with a view to balancing the budget.

          • 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.

                          • Rome
                            • 18 September 2013
                             
                             

                            Italy’s welfare system: living with risk

                              At this roundtable session dealing with the future of Italy’s welfare system, the participants observed that tackling the issue of risk management requires the resolution of an evident paradox, namely, that while the risks to which households and firms are exposed are becoming greater in number and increasingly serious, the public resources needed to address them are in ever more limited supply.

                            • Rome
                              • 13 November 2013
                               
                               

                              Modernizing Italy’s public administration for people and business

                                It was noted at this national roundtable discussion that, according to the two most well-known systems for measuring the level of economic freedom existing in a country, the extent to which public authorities function well is a fundamental indicator of the same. Similarly, it is widely acknowledged that in countries where the functioning of the public administration meets the expectations of citizens, people can even be amenable to a high level of taxation.

                              • Milan
                                • 7 October 2013
                                 
                                 

                                Banks and the real economy: rethinking roles, responsibilities and rules

                                  Attendees at this National Conference examining the Italian banking sector noted that, according to economic theory, the financial system has a fundamental role to play in intermediating savings, allowing an efficient allocation of capital with consequent gains in productivity and wellbeing for the entire economy. In the recent past, however, this primary function has been compounded by others that have contributed to a distortion of the financial sector’s role and its relationship with the real economy.

                                • Rome
                                  • 28 November 2013
                                   
                                   

                                  The digital agenda and the financial sector

                                    Proceedings at this National Conference got underway with the observation that the ICT industry characterizes and defines the age we live in. The spread of digital technology has led to a radical sea change in the economic system that is perhaps yet to be fully grasped. The profound and complex changes that this has given rise to in a number of spheres of endeavor are often perceived as a threat in Italy, due to the devastating effects they are having on the status quo, on centers of power, on existing organizational structures, and on employment.

                                  • Vicenza
                                    • 29 September 2013
                                     
                                     

                                    Family business as an engine for responsible growth

                                      The resilience of family businesses, still accounting for over 60% of Italy’s medium-sized and large firms, has been reaffirmed throughout the crisis. However, the protracted recessionary environment and credit crunch, in conjunction with ongoing succession processes, is forcing many of them to fundamentally rethink their business models, financial and ownership structures in order to return to a growth path – or otherwise succumb to the fierce global competition.

                                    • 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.