Search

Begin New Search Topic Economics Political Geography Italy

1. Lost in Deflation: Why Italy’s woes are a warning to the whole Eurozone

Author:
Servaas Storm
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:
Using macroeconomic data for 1960-2018, this paper analyzes the origins of the crisis of the ‘post-Maastricht Treaty order of Italian capitalism’. After 1992, Italy did more than most other Eurozone members to satisfy EMU conditions in terms of self-imposed fiscal consolidation, structural reform and real wage restraint—and the country was undeniably successful in bringing down inflation, moderating wages, running primary fiscal surpluses, reducing unemployment and raising the profit share. But its adherence to the EMU rulebook asphyxiated Italy’s domestic demand and exports—and resulted not just in economic stagnation and a generalized productivity slowdown, but in relative and absolute decline in many major dimensions of economic activity. Italy’s chronic shortage of demand has clear sources: (a) perpetual fiscal austerity; (b) permanent real wage restraint; and (c) a lack of technological competitiveness which, in combination with an overvalued euro, weakens the ability of Italian firms to maintain their global market shares in the face of increasing competition of low-wage countries. These three causes lower capacity utilization, reduce firm profitability and hurt investment, innovation and diversification. The EMU rulebook thus locks the Italian economy into economic decline and impoverishment. The analysis points to the need to end austerity and devise public investment and industrial policies to improve Italy’s ‘technological competitiveness’ and stop the structural divergence between the Italian economy and France/Germany. The issue is not just to revive demand in the short run (which is easy), but to create a self-reinforcing process of investment-led and innovation-driven process of long-run growth (which is difficult).
Topic:
Economics, Capitalism, Global Political Economy, Macroeconomics, and Eurozone
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

2. Constructing Quality: Producer Power, Market Organization, and the Politics of High Value-Added Markets.

Author:
Elizabeth Carter
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Economists assume increased producer flexibility creates production advantages. So why do inefficient French quality wine producers dominate their flexible, efficient Italian counterparts? French AOC wine producers created “corporatist” producer organizations which served three purposes: encouraged increased product quality information across the supply chain; allowed for the emergence of a unique production style; and enabled producers to define their production methods as “quality” via state regulation. Italian DOC wine producers have fragmented political structures at both the regional and national levels, causing producers to rely more on the price mechanism and less on political structures to coordinate supply chain transactions. Market asymmetries persist across the supply chain, making it difficult for producers to guarantee quality and adversely shaping their potential production and brand strategies. Solving supply chain problems through representative political institutions yields superior economic outcomes than uncoordinated market transactions because the former corrects market power asymmetries.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Politics, and Regulation
Political Geography:
France, Italy, and Global Focus

3. WTO 'a la carte' or 'menu du jour'? Assessing the Case for More Plurilateral Agreements

Author:
Bernard M. Hoekman and Petros C. Mavroidis
Publication Date:
04-2015
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
Plurilateral agreements in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) allow sub-sets of countries to agree to commitments in specific policy areas that only apply to signatories and thus allow for ‘variable geometry’ in the WTO. Plurilateral agreements share a number of features with preferential trade agreements (PTAs), which are increasingly used by governments to liberalize trade in goods and services. This article discusses the current institutional framework that governs these two alternatives and distinguishes them from the general, non-discriminatory agreements that are negotiated among – and apply to – all WTO members. Current WTO rules make it much more difficult to pursue the plurilateral route than to negotiate a PTA. We review the arguments for and against making it easier for ‘issue-specific’ clubs to form in the WTO and discuss how concerns raised by some WTO members regarding the potential negative impact of plurilateral agreements on the multilateral trading system might be addressed. We take the view that action to facilitate the negotiation of plurilateral agreements in the WTO should be considered and that the potential downsides for the multilateral trading system can be managed.
Topic:
Economics, Political Economy, World Trade Organization, and Law
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

4. Income Inequality Developments in the Great Recession

Author:
Tomas Hellebrandt
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The Great Recession, which cost tens of millions of jobs, a collapse of asset values around the world, and threatened the global financial system, has generated renewed concern over the long-standing issue of the fairness of the distribution of wealth and income in many societies. Economic inequality has increased in the United States and many other advanced economies over the past 20 to 30 years. This trend generated less worry in the boom years, when unemployment rates were low and cheap credit enabled consumers to borrow and maintain higher standards of living, masking the impact of growing income disparity on consumption patterns and perceptions of well-being.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Poverty, Social Stratification, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Ireland

5. The EMS Crisis of the 1990s: Parallels with the present crisis?

Author:
Daniel Gros
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The EMS crisis of the 1990 s illustrated the importance of a lack of confidence in price or exchange rate stability, whereas the present crisis illustrates the importance of a lack of confidence in fiscal sustainability. Theoretically the difference between the two should be minor since, in terms of the real return to an investor, the loss of purchasing power can be the same when inflation is unexpectedly high, or when the nominal value of government debt is cut in a formal default. Experience has shown, however, that expropriation via a formal default is much more disruptive than via inflation.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

6. The Five Star Movement: Exception or Vanguard in Europe?

Author:
Lorenzo Mosca
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The enduring economic crisis, austerity measures and corruption scandals have created a favourable environment for the advent of new political actors all over Europe. During the last general elections (February 2013), Italy was shocked by the inexorable rise of the Five Star Movement. Beppe Grillo's creature upset the political system, occupying portions of the public sphere that had been ignored (the web) or gradually abandoned by traditional political parties (the squares). Its unusual campaigning style, its internet-based organisational structure, its atypical political positioning (beyond left and right), and its oversimplification of complex problems all help to explain its electoral performance, and distinguish it from similar anti-establishment parties that have emerged in Europe over the past decade.
Topic:
Corruption, Economics, and Environment
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

7. Withdrawing incentives to attract FDI: Can host countries put the genie back in the bottle?

Author:
Anna De Luca
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:
Many governments offer incentives to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, the renewable energy sector has benefitted from large national incentive schemes in the past decade. However, the withdrawal of such incentives can lead to investors bringing investment treaty claims against host countries. This Perspective looks at some claims host countries face from investors in the renewable energy sector and their implications.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Italy

8. ECB Policy and Eurozone Fragility: Was De Grauwe Right?

Author:
Ana-Maria Fuertes, Elena Kalotychou, and Orkun Saka
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Paul De Grauwe ' s fragility hypothesis states that member countries of a monetary union such as the eurozone are highly vulnerable to a self – fulfilling mechanism by which the efforts of investors to avoid losses from default can end up triggering the very default they fear. The authors test this hypothesis by applying an eclectic methodology to a time window around Mario Draghi ' s " whatever it takes " (to keep the eurozone on firm footing) pledge on 26 July 2012 . This pledge was soon followed by the announcement of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program me (the prospective and conditional purchase by the European Central Bank of sovereign bonds of eurozone countries having difficulty issuing debt) . The principal components of eurozone credit default swap spreads validate this choice of time frame . An event study reveals significant pre – announcement contagion emanating from Spain to Italy, Belgium, France and Austria. Furthermore, time – series regression confirms frequent clusters of large shocks affecting the credit default swap spreads of the four eurozone countries but solely during the pre – announcement period. The findings of this report support the fragility hypothesis for the eurozone and endorse the Outright Monetary Transactions programme.
Topic:
Economics, Foreign Exchange, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Belgium, and Italy

9. The Management and Use of Natural Resources and their Potential for Economic and Social Development in the Mediterranean

Author:
Vanessa Ushie
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
In the framework of the IAI-OCP Policy Center project this paper offers a conceptual framework to examine natural resource management in Turkey, Morocco and Italy and its implications for social and economic development. It recognizes the multiplicity of actors involved in natural resource management at the local, national and global level. It then proceeds by 1) advancing a definition of natural resources to be used in the context of this project; 2) highlighting relevant emerging issues in the empirical debates on natural resource management within economics and politics; 3) developing a series of indicators aimed at assessing the dimensions of the management and use of natural resources. In general, this conceptual framework adopts a flexible and plural approach that reflects the multidisciplinary nature of natural resource management, and recognizes the importance of country-specific factors in the relationship between natural resource management and socio-economic development.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Natural Resources, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, North Africa, Italy, and Morocco

10. Understanding human smuggling as a human rights issue

Author:
Theodore Baird
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Human smuggling plays a central role in migration from areas affected by conflict and poverty to areas of relative safety. The terms 'smuggling' and 'trafficking' are often used synonymously in public discussions and the media. The accepted international definitions of smuggling and trafficking were not devised until the end of the 1990s. In international law, with the signing in December 2000 of the United Nations Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, a distinction was made in order to aid authorities in managing and prosecuting individuals involved. Human smuggling and trafficking are covered under the two Protocols to the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which were negotiated in Vienna under the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, with the UN Centre for International Crime Prevention serving as secretariat, in the 'Vienna Process'. The Smuggling Protocol was signed at a meeting convened in Palermo, Italy, as one of what were dubbed the 'Palermo Protocols'. The following definition of human smuggling is widely accepted by governments and academic communities.
Topic:
Economics, Human Rights, Migration, Labor Issues, and Border Control
Political Geography:
Italy