Crisis In Italy Research Articles

From Notary to Ruler: The Role of the President of the Republic during the Italian Crisis (2010–14)

During the period of political and economic crisis in Italy, the President of the Republic became the central institutional actor of the Italian parliamentary government. This led to a debate among party politicians and scholars of Italian politics concerning the role of the Head of State in Italian democracy. Focusing on the period from 2010 until the beginning of 2014, the article explains the growing power of the President by examining the conditions that allowed presidential powers to increase. It concludes by discussing the potential effects of the increase in presidential powers on the evolution of Italian parliamentary government.

Corporate governance and the financial crisis in Italy

The financial crisis hit Italy harder than many other Eurozone countries. In part this was due to the fact that the crisis came upon a system that was weakened by years of sub-par economic growth. One of the several endogenous factors that explain the stagnation of the Italian economy is the weak corporate governance in the industrial sector and parts of the financial one. A framework that was designed to maintain stability in the ownership of companies and of certain types of banking institution ultimately led to an inefficient allocation of capital and to a lack of investment, which contributed to the loss of competitiveness of Italian firms in a fast globalizing marketplace.

Tourism as Possible Opportunity to Address the Crisis in Italy

Tourism today represents one of the world’s leading export commodity, accounting for global earnings of more than 200 billion Euro, about 25 per cent of total world GNP (Poirier 2000, p30, cited in Dieke, 2000). In the last 20 years, tourism has made a very important contribution to the global economy, being the fastest growing sector in terms of external revenue and new jobs. The economic and financial crisis that has affected the world economy in 2008, has led to decreasing the flow of tourists, but the tourism sector seems to be save by the new tourist that arrives from the emerging countries. In this context Italy face with a decrease in the number of tourists and a soft negative trend. The huge cultural heritage that characterize Italy and its beauty, should represent an important incentive of both, policy makers and private sector, for the relaunch of this important sector.

Interpersonal Networking and Business Resilience: How Immigrants in Small Business Face the Crisis in Italy

Interpersonal Networking and Business Resilience: How Immigrants in Small Business Face the Crisis in Italy

Not with my vote: turnout and the economic crisis in Italy

This article deals with voter turnout and the economic crisis, and focuses on the results of the 2013 parliamentary elections in Italy. A consolidated tradition of studies has attested to the impact of a negative economic cycle, unemployment and various issues related to the economy, on the decision whether or not to vote, although the results remain controversial. Some scholars have asserted that, during a period of crisis, voters react positively, using their collective voice to demand more attention to their interests. Others argue that negative circumstances distance citizens from the electoral arena bringing a higher rate of abstention as a consequence. The peculiarity of the political situation in the period leading up to the 2013 election in Italy (the unexpected end of Berlusconi’s government in 2011, the period of transition under Monti’s technocratic government and the rise of the Five Star Movement [MoVimento Cinque Stelle, M5S] as a new competitor) strongly influenced voters’ evaluations of how political parties were going to compete and whether, or for whom, they would vote. Survey results show that discontented voters largely used abstention as a strategy to express their resentment, but that the most politically engaged preferred to choose a radical party (M5S), rather than refusing to vote.

Past and present factors of the crisis in Italy ' s public libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the general reasons for the crisis in Italy ' s contemporary public library institution. This crisis is complicated by the historical origins of the public library in Italy and, more broadly, by the difficult relationship between the Italian culture and today ' s world. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual discussion on the role of public library in Italy. Findings – The paper finds that the continuing delay in the acquisition of literacy, the tendency for points of view to become divided and to go to extremes and the development of a form of politics in the country suspended between centralised government and the claims of the local self-governments are all factors that have influenced the establishment of the public library in Italy. Originality/value – Understanding the conditions of the controversial origins of the public library in Italy can be of help when deciding which model to use in the future. A suitable model for this institution must not neglect but, on the contrary, must enhance the role of the library as a social institution of the history of a specific community.

Banks and the political economy of the sovereign debt crisis in Italy and Spain

ABSTRACTThis paper sets out to explain why Spain experienced a full-fledged sovereign debt crisis and had to resort to euroarea financial assistance for its banks, whereas Italy did not. It undertakes a structured comparison, dissecting the sovereign debt crisis into a banking crisis and a balance of payments crisis. It argues that the distinctive features of bank business models and of national banking systems in Italy and Spain have considerable analytical leverage in explaining the different scenarios of the crises in each country. This ‘bank-based’ analysis contributes to the flourishing literature that examines changes in banking with a view to account for the differentiated impact of the global banking crisis first and the sovereign debt crisis in the euroarea later.

Scelte di spesa e trend epidemiologici: un modello di simulazione

The Report Salute Italia 2028 aims at estimating the health needs of the Italian population by 2028 as a planning tool that can be used in the decision making process. The development of forecasts, trends and scenarios is helpful in identifying the actions to be taken with an evidence-based approach, in order to try to align the health services supply with the emerging health needs. The analysis is based on a set of indicators recognized at the national and international level. Most data derive from the Italian Observatory Healthcare Report and statistical models have been used to estimate future trends. An effort was made to develop a methodology able to link the trends emerged to the economic-financial and supply perspective. The report highlights which will be the peculiar needs of the Italian population and the main critical situations in the span time considered. Core indicators have been selected and analyzed regarding the following areas: demographic scenario, burden of disease (tumors, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, diabetes), institutional framework and health care expenditure. The financial crisis in Italy can affect substantially the crucial sector of the health care. The spending review process should avoid horizontal policies that can reduce the health expenditure in the short term, but resulting in the long term in a reduction of the health services covered and, thus, of the health status of the population.

EPA-1202 – The role of a telephone helpline in the prevention of suicide during economic crisis in italy

Introduction The Lifeline’Talk With Us’ was founded in 2008 by Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, to provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis. Objective In this study we evaluated the socio demographic profile of individuals who used the helpline during last year (2012–2013) and caller's intent to die at the end of the call. Aim To investigate suicide risk factors among the callers and the association with the socio-economic status. Method Using a standardized form, we assessed suicide risk in a sample of 228 callers (120 female) focusing on Suicidal Desire, Suicidal Capability, Suicidal Intent. Results The mean age of our sample was 41±14,8; most callers (52%) were female from north and central of Italy. Suicide risk factors in our sample were the following: feeling alone, loss of a significant relationship, economic problems, loss of a significant loved one by suicide. Suicide attempts were reported by 27% of participants whereas 16,8% of them referred suicidal ideation. Unemployment was found in 22% of the callers whereas 42% of them referred suicide attempts, and 25% suicidal ideation. Conclusion This study shows the importance to provide an accessible volunteer service for people who are in crisis, present suicidal ideation or reported prior suicide attempts. In particular, our service was very important for those who were in economic crisis, as demonstrated by our data. Improving the quality of the existing services, and promoting awareness that suicide prevention is possible are highly recommended.

Efficienza ed equità nelle scelte della sanità pubblica italiana: universalismo, federalismo e livelli essenziali di assistenza

In 2005, the member states of Who encouraged countries to develop health financing systems with universal coverage. In 2011, the United Nations Conference noted that countries with best health status are those with some form of universal coverage. The article explores the link between universalism and economic crisis in Italy, the ongoing process in countries that do not have a welfare system and discusses the three dimensions of universalism according to the approach proposed by the Who

Enrico Berlinguer. Il Pci come partito della democrazia socialista

The text revisits a speech made in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, marking the first circumstances, in 1974 and in 1976, when Enrico Berlinguer defined the moral question as the main political question to be resolved at once in order to put an end to Italy's crisis and decline. The essay then reconstructs the politics of independence from the Ussr, which increased from 1968 to 1981-82, and the evolution of the model of Italian Communism, which Berlinguer identified with a party of Socialist Democracy.

Romanian Immigrants in Italy in the Romanian and the Italian Media

The article aims at showing the situation of the Romanians in Italy in the 21st century starting from the causes determining the still existing crisis by showing the case as such from both the point of view of public opinion in the two countries and watching the reaction of authorities in Romania and Italy. In the last pages of the article, we will attempt to introduce the situation of the bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries as a consequence of the Romanian immigrants’ crisis in Italy.

History Dependent Growth Incidence: A Characterization and an Application to the Economic Crisis in Italy

The aim of this paper is to propose an axiomatic characterization of an aggregate measure of growth that takes into account the initial economic conditions of individuals, through their position in the initial income distribution. The contribution of our work to the existing literature is twofold. The first is to provide a unifying framework for the derivation of an absolute and a relative measure of individual growth. The second is represented by the aggregation procedure which leads to a generalization of existing measures of growth. We apply our theoretical framework to evaluate the growth processes experienced by the Italian population in the last decade in order to investigate the history dependent distributional effect of the recent economic crisis.

Illegal waste disposal in the time of the mafia: a tale of enforcement and social well being

The current waste crisis in Italy is the most recent evidence that criminal organisations can impact waste management heavily. Nonetheless, this aspect has been neglected by current literature. We take the first step in filling this gap by developing a model which allows for the presence of a criminal organisation which extorts (socially costly) rent from agents willing to perform illegal disposal. In a setting where the public authority acts as a Stackelberg leader with respect to the mafia, we assume, coherently through real life observation, that enforcement efforts can only hit the criminal organisation: agents are therefore subject to indirect enforcement via the mafia extortion. Our main conclusion suggests that the presence of the mafia can lead to an increase in the level of economic activity and to less enforcement; under certain conditions, the related benefits can offset the damages from increases in illegal disposal and the social costs of the mafia's rent. These results provide a possible theoretical rationale for authorities' tolerance of the mafia in the waste cycle, and contribute to the explanation of some surprising stylised facts in the Italian case.

La rigenerazione e innovazione delle organizzazioni come questione nazionale Italia, crisi e progetto

The economic crisis in Italy, as in Europe, affects heavily private companies and Public Administrations. In a few cases, however, organizations displayed an admirable capability of coping, due to innovation in design and management. An Italian Way of Doing industry is emerging. The paper advocates a new stream of policy oriented researches about cases and new paradigms Italian production system and Public Administration made in cooperation among institutions, universities, companies, associations: the basis for a new industrial policy. Collaborative projects of innovation and change management in specific companies and administrations should be fostered and supported, by developing best cases, new paradigms and communities of innovators. Innovation and changes in the organization may have a relevant impact upon macro dimensions of economy. Our society of organizations requires to all of them an improved capacity for coping dramatic changes. On the other hand, new forms of organizations may have a decisive impact on productivity and regulation. New products and services, new processes and a new model of consumption are part of a destructive creation that should be managed. The proposal is to cope the crisis by raising a strong scientific, cultural, professional movement oriented to invent a regenerate organization in private and public sector. Criteria drawn by our recent research are suggested. An agenda includes research and actions and the following areas of design and development: networks of territories and enterprises opened to the international market; integral enterprises as a basis of the Italian Way of Doing Industry; Public Administrations doing more with less; high reliability organizations; sustainable organizations; organization for social defence; new model of consumption; enterprises web 2.0.; broad professions.

The financial crisis in Italy: Implications for the healthcare sector

The global economic and financial crisis is having and impact on the Italian healthcare system which is undergoing a devolution process from the central government to regions and where about one third of the regional governments (mainly in the central and southern part of the country) are facing large financial deficits. The paper briefly describes the current macro scenario and the main responses taken to face the crisis and highlights the downside risks of introducing “linear” cuts in the allocation of resources. While justified by the risk of a national debt default, present fiscal policies might increase inequalities in access to care, deteriorate overall health indicators and population wellbeing, and sharpen existing difference in the quality of care between regions. Preliminary evidence shows that the crisis is affecting the quality of nutrition and the incidence of psychiatric disorders. During this difficult financial situation Italy is also facing the risk of a major reduction in investments for preventive medicine, Evidence Based Medicine infrastructures, health information systems and physical capital renewal. This cost-cutting strategy may have negative long term consequences Also, important achievement in terms of limiting waiting lists, improving continuity of care and patients’ centeredness, and promoting integration between social and health care may be negatively affected by unprecedented resources’ cuts. It is essential that in such a period of public funding constraints health authorities monitor incidence of diseases and access to care of the most vulnerable groups and specifically target interventions to those who may be disproportionally hit by the crisis.

The Reaction of Fiscal Policy to the Crisis in Italy and Germany: Are They Really Polar Cases in the European Context?

This paper examines public finance developments in Germany and Italy in 2009 and find that the larger stimulus measures adopted in Germany were associated with a more favorable underlying trend in the German budget balance. Overall, the cyclically-adjusted primary balances deteriorated by a similar extent in the two countries. The automatic stabilizers are estimated to have had an impact of a similar magnitude on the deficit in Germany and in Italy. Given the fiscal conditions in 2008, it is not surprising that the size of the discretionary measures adopted by the two countries were at the opposite extremes of the gamut of reactions of all European governments. The authors then assess the macroeconomic impact of discretionary measures and automatic stabilizers on the basis of counter-factual simulations with the econometric models of the two countries developed by Deutsche Bundesbank and Banca d’Italia. Altogether, discretionary measures and automatic stabilisers counteracted the fall in real GDP in 2009 by more than 2 percentage points in Germany and by 1 point in Italy. The difference reflects both the size of the stimulus measures and the higher fiscal multipliers in Germany.

On Graduation from Default, Inflation, and Banking Crises: Elusive or Illusion?

This paper uses a data set of over two hundred years of sovereign debt, banking and inflation crises to explore the question of how long it takes a country to "graduate" from the typical pattern of serial crisis that most emerging markets experience. We find that for default and inflation crises, twenty years is a significant market, but the distribution of recidivism has extremely fat tails. In the case of banking crises, it is unclear whether countries ever graduate. We also examine the more recent phenomenon of IMF programs, which sometimes result in "near misses" but sometimes end in default even after a program is instituted. The paper raises the important theoretical question of why countries experience serial default, and how they might graduate.

Questione morale e crisi di regime. La prima Repubblica italiana alla prova degli scandali (1992-1994)

- According to the standard thesis, the political crisis in Italy between 1992 and 1994 and the collapse of the Christian Democrat regime are related to the revelation of corruption of the political elite by the judiciary. However, judicial revelations and corruption scandals have regularly occurred in Italy, before and after this crisis, without provoking a drastic political change and the reject of the political system by the electorate. Considering this paradox, the article suggests an alternate account of the 1992-1994 events that underline the way in which the political competition had been affected by the scandals: the moral crusades against corruption had in this period a political impact because they had been relayed and supported by emerging political actors in order to challenge the established elites and to claim a leading role in reshaping the political system.

Serologic Profile and Mortality Rates of Scleroderma Renal Crisis in Italy

To analyze clinical and serological characteristics of subjects with scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) in Italian patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). A retrospective analysis of medical records from 9 Italian rheumatologic referral centers was carried out. All patients with SRC and an available serum sample at the time of crisis were included. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence, anti-topoisomerase (topo) I by enzyme-linked assay (ELISA), anti-RNA polymerases (RNAP) by ELISA for the subunit III, and immunoprecipitation (IP) were performed. Forty-six cases (38 female; 40 diffuse cutaneous SSc) were identified. Mean age at SSc and SRC onset was 52.8 years +/- 13.2 and 55.4 years +/- 11.8, respectively. ANA were present in 44 patients (96%). Anti-topo I antibodies were detected in 30 (65%), anti-RNAP I-III in 7 (15%). No differences emerged between these 2 groups for their main clinical characteristics. The proportion of patients in the anti-RNAP I-III group developing SRC early (< 18 mo) in the course of SSc was significantly higher (p = 0.03). Cumulative survival rates were 64%, 53%, and 35% at 1, 2, and 10 years of followup, respectively. Survival rates of SSc patients significantly differed according to their autoantibody profile, being lower in the anti-topo I than in the anti-RNAP I-III group (p = 0.034). SRC is a rare manifestation of SSc in Italy but it is still associated with severe prognosis. Anti-topo I reactivity was more frequent than anti-RNAP I-III in our patients with SRC and was associated with delayed onset and high mortality rates.