It is a long story that began back in the 1990s and that is still very much a part of the debate today. We are talking about the controversial and syncopated story of deregulation in Italy.
On July 19, the awards ceremony for the “Italian unification” competition organized by Aspen Institute Italia and the Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana was held at Palazzo Lancellotti, Aspen Italia’s headquarters in Rome.
This national roundtable got underway with the observation that the digital revolution which began in the late 1990s has radically changed the world of television. Today, audiovisual content can be found on the internet, smartphones and tablet computers: transmission capacity has been boosted, general-interest TV is losing audience shares and the level of user customization is on the rise. Industry models are also changing – and fast. In the near future, the models for making television, delivering it to audiences, and making it attractive to advertisers will be very different.
Kick-starting discussions at this national roundtable event was the observation that few subjects have lent themselves as well in Italian public debate to the vivid use of metaphors as has the scale of the country’s public debt, often described as a mountain to be climbed, a dead weight, or as tantamount to a mortgage on Italy’s future. The actual figure is indeed staggering, amounting to nearly 2 trillion euros, and exceeding 123% of GDP.
Proceedings at this national roundtable got underway with the observation that, in recent years, the concept of ethics seems to have taken center-stage in economic debate. Expressions such as ethical finance, ethical trade and business ethics are being used more and more frequently, and all major international companies have a code of ethics.
Discussion at this national roundtable got underway with the observation that tourism is another largely underutilized resource that features prominently in the (somewhat copious) catalog of Italy’s untapped potential. For decades, the sector has constantly been held up as representing the epitome of the country’s missed opportunities, along with culture and natural heritage, with which it is clearly interlinked.
The starting point for discussions at this national roundtable session was the observation that, in this time of crisis, revamping Italy’s image is not just a strategic priority, but also a pressing necessity. The problem was seen as originating, paradoxically, from within the country itself, with Italians engaging in some sort of exercise in self-flagellation by talking down their homeland whenever abroad.
The participants at this National Roundtable opened the discussion by observing that following the reform of the Italian intelligence services, the activities of the relevant agencies are no longer confined to the protection of the political and military interests of the country, but also extend to defending its “economic, scientific and industrial” interests.
The key objective to emerge from the discussions at this National Conference was that of transforming a constraint into an opportunity. The green economy must be made the cornerstone of a new, more sustainable and enduring development model. It was observed that, in recent years, particularly in the wake of the protracted effects of the worst economic and financial crisis in recent history, the world has begun to stop treating the “environmental factor” as a possible limitation on freedom of enterprise, but rather to see it from a more comprehensive perspective.
As an opening premise, the participants at this National Conference noted that any reflection on the future of the Italian national health service must first start with an analysis of the value produced for the country in health terms. In this regard, statistics were cited indicating that between 1951 and the present day, life expectancy in Italy has increased by 1 month every 4 months. Italy also has the longest-lived population in Europe, with over-65s already making up 20% of the population, or 12 million people, of whom 3.5 million are over 80 years old (6%).
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.
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%.
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.
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”.
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.
Once upon a time, there was GDP. Or rather, once there was “just” GDP, understood as an aggregate indicator used to measure a country’s economic growth by quantifying the flow of goods and services for end-use and produced within a certain period of time in a given territory.
This roundtable saw those in attendance debate the role that foreign-owned firms play in the Italian economy, particularly with a view to identifying approaches and measures that could enable foreign direct investment inflows to be improved.
Debate at this National Interest Conference got underway with the observation that overcoming the social and economic divide between Northern and Southern Italy requires a profound rethink of intervention policies together with an overall return to efficiency and effectiveness in public action.
The participants at this National Roundtable noted that, in recent years, the corporate governance of Italian firms has changed in a rapid and decisive – though in some ways haphazard – manner. This process, which started in the 1990s, particularly in the wake of the wave of privatizations, was intended to make the financial market more attractive to foreign and Italian investors by providing greater guarantees for the protection of minority shareholders.
Added value of over 140 billion euros and employment for around 3.3 million people: this was the snapshot, in figures, presented at this National Interest roundtable session of the engine of Italy’s manufacturing system, driven by the country’s leading sectors – the so-called “4 Fs” of the Made-in-Italy industry: Ferrari cars and non-electronic machinery and equipment, fashion and clothing, food and beverage, and furniture and wood products.
