Archive
China Surrenders to Covid
Draconian measures such as lockdowns, quarantines, tests, and electronic health codes disappeared without warning or a plan to prepare the immense countryside – where the population is older and there is a chronic lack of hospitals, doctors, and medicines – for the health crisis they would have to face.[1] Among other things, the decision was made in the middle of winter when the virus spreads more rapidly, and with the mass travel foreseen for the Lunar New Year holidays, that this year fell on January 22. It is impossible to avoid asking what the cost in human life will be. On January 13, ...
The China That Is Also a Part of Us
An argument exists that we should never write about China, because historically it is a country where the system always exists with what can change it, and by the time we describe it, it has already changed. Yet much has been written about China, and the numerous descriptions oscillate between two extremes: that based on the misunderstanding of China being far away, “mysterious,” incomprehensible, and inexplicable; and on the other hand, that of a China that is close, that we can interpret with the categories and logics familiar to us, and where “we ourselves are also Chinese in our own ...
Reglobalization: From the Supremacy of Economics to that of Politics?
Starting from the time of the Second World War, precisely to counter some of the causes of the conflict – as well as to stem some of its consequences – an international, diplomatic, and political movement arose aimed at achieving integration of the markets in various countries; integration that was global and multilateral, meaning that it would leave nobody out. This, for two reasons: first of all, with the aim of stability, i.e. to avoid the creation of opposing blocs; and secondly, for reasons of inclusiveness, to prevent a situation in which large industrialized countries would reach agreements ...
The PNRR and Finance for Sustainability
Sustainability and policy-making. The Brundtland Report of 1987 reminded all of us that we do not inherit the planet from our parents, but we borrow it from our children, introducing a definition of sustainability that is still relevant today. Some progress has been made, especially if we consider the results in light of the concurrent increase by 60 percent of the overall population, from 5 to 8 billion people. European economic policy has chosen to give great weight to the goal of sustainability, potentially placing the production sector in a position of competitive disadvantage compared to ...
Il PNRR e la finanza per la sostenibilità
Sostenibilità e policy-making. Il Brundtland Report nel 1987 ricordava a tutti noi che il pianeta non si eredita dai genitori, ma si prende a prestito dai figli, introducendo una definizione di sostenibilità ancora oggi attuale. Qualche progresso è stato fatto, specie se valutiamo i risultati alla luce del concomitante aumento del 60 per cento della popolazione complessiva, da 5 a 8 miliardi. La politica economica europea ha scelto di dare un grande peso all’obiettivo di sostenibilità, ponendo potenzialmente il settore produttivo in posizione di svantaggio competitivo rispetto al resto del ...
Il PNRR e la finanza per la sostenibilità
Sostenibilità e policy-making. Il Brundtland Report nel 1987 ricordava a tutti noi che il pianeta non si eredita dai genitori, ma si prende a prestito dai figli, introducendo una definizione di sostenibilità ancora oggi attuale. Qualche progresso è stato fatto, specie se valutiamo i risultati alla luce del concomitante aumento del 60 per cento della popolazione complessiva, da 5 a 8 miliardi. La politica economica europea ha scelto di dare un grande peso all’obiettivo di sostenibilità, ponendo potenzialmente il settore produttivo in posizione di svantaggio competitivo rispetto al resto del ...
Short-sighted Monetary Policy: A Winning Horse or a Scapegoat?
The Fed and the ECB are by now like the Pythia of the Oracle of Delphi: they speak little, and poorly. They must always be interpreted, with all of the related unknowns. It’s an opportunistic strategy, that increases the risk of stagflation. To understand why, let’s set some ground rules. We’ll start from the fact that both central banks want to fight inflation, and bring interest rates onto a path in which the remuneration of assets, both real and financial, and thus interest rates, is compatible with price growth of 2%, by 2024. To be clearer, the starting assumption means basing monetary ...
Financing the Ecological Transition
The ecological transition has been a subject of debate for many decades now, with much said and written. In reality, in recent years it has reached crucial importance for the economic and social development of our planet. It is in fact a very complex subject, that is difficult to define, especially in practical terms, and changes continuously while regarding various areas, including the decarbonization of the economy, the circular economy, the reduction of the use of plastic, urban regeneration, sustainable tourism, and adaptation and mitigation of risks due to climate change. The solution to ...
Has Financial Fair Play Changed the European Soccer Industry?
Last summer, the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, spoke to Sky Sport to present the twelfth edition of the Soccer Report, developed by the FIGC Study Center, in collaboration with AREL and PwC Italia. The report had good and bad parts, we could say, even though there was a lot more bad than good. “The data in our Soccer Report is ruthless as always […] in 12 years we have accumulated aggregate losses of 4.1 billion euros; we have lost one million euros a day […] 79% of our clubs have closed their accounts with losses. In the last 12 years our world has practically doubled its debts, ...
Work Less and Earn More: a Utopia?
The world of work always occupies a central position in the economic and political debate, and that pre-eminence was also evident in the recent election campaign. As stated in Art. 1 of the Constitution, our republic is founded on labor, so it should be no surprise that this question is central in the national debate. This occurred in particular after the pandemic, in which the world of work was going through evident transformations and changes – not only in Italy: the development of remote work, the wave of layoffs that has affected different professions, and the lack of labor in some sectors. ...