All existing international indicators - both ordinal and cardinal - of
structural nature signal that Italy is a country cronically characterised by
great inefficiencies, though it succeeds in remaining among the 7 economically
most powerful countries in the world. Both in cyclical terms and in the medium-
and long-run, lights and shadows co-exist in our country. Traditional macroeconomic policies, in particular the
monetary and fiscal ones, must not raise concerns. In Italy, a presumption of
guilt should be set on microeconomic policies envisaging excessive allocations
for some Welfare items and insufficient resources for pure public goods and for
the public accumulation of both human and material resources. But, more than
that, market regulation policies should be in the dock. Competition is hardly
prompted, while there are too many "protections" granted by law to
workers and firms, often to the detriment of consumers and outsiders
(unemployed, young first job seekers, women, Southern people). As it is well
know, in Italy both the Marxist and the Catholic traditions obstacle
competition, as does a Crocian school of thought which is minoritarian in the
country.