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Summary

Students will become familiar with the structure, nature, decision-making process and policies of the Italian economic sector.

Full Description

Objectives

The students are expected to become familiar with the structure, nature, decision-making process and policies of the Italian economic sector. The written exams will be evaluated for the degree of practical knowledge that the student is able to demonstrate. Questions posed in the exams will try to test the student’s capability of distinguishing the specific nature of the various Italian institutions and to avoid any misunderstanding as to the particular relevance of each body with reference to the impact it can have on the country’s economic trends. Students will be given a specific scenario and will be asked to indicate the most likely outcome as well as the hind facts which might have led to the situation in question. They might also be asked to indicate a proper line of action to lobby the Italian business environment in order to penetrate it or to have an impact on its decision-making process. The students will be tested on their concrete capability to interact with the nation’s business habitat and its economic-political context in order to become either successful lobbyists or skilled business operators.

Among the G-8 countries Italy is certainly bound to undergo the largest number of changes if it intends on maintaining its membership in that exclusive club and be able to withstand the competition coming from China and other emerging nations. The particulars of the Italian economic reality are such as to warrant a detailed study of its supporting pillars, stimuli, flaws and assets. Even the mixed ownership (state and private) of the country's productive structure makes Italy a unique case worthy of the highest attention as the country continues down the road to privatization. The course will attempt to explain what the very foundations of the Italian miracle are and how it is able to weather even the most difficult of times. The only prerequisite is a course in principles of macroeconomics.

Programme

The Italian government's decision-making structure in the economic field. From the first to the second Republic: the shift in economic focus.
The country's economic indicators; the status of the economy; the North-South dualism.
The economic platform of the main political coalitions. The role of the trade unions and of the industrialists' associations in the economic scenario.
Italian-style capitalism: state dirigisme and business dynasties.
The connivance between economic and political elites.
Government procurement and political corruption.
The privatization effort: the obstacles encountered and the procedures adopted.
The role of small and medium-size firms (SMEs).
The stock market and the other sources of financing.
The Italian banking system.
Italy in the international economic context. The EU membership and the Maastricht requirements for EMU.
The strongholds and the weak points of Italy's international trading position.
he internationalization effort of the Italian companies. Economic relations between Italy and the U.S.

Recommended Text(s)

Paul Ginsborg, Italy and Its Discontents, Palgrave Mcmillan, 2003.
Paul Ginsborg, Silvio Berlusconi: Television, Power and Patrimony, Verso Books, 2004.
Doing Business in Italy, Ernst & Young, 2001