Italy: The Sheltered Economy

This volume describes in considerable detail the structural features of the Italian economy. It is based on the results of a major three-year project analysing the Italian economy, and its primary focus is on the role of state and private economic agents. Italy has a huge and interventionist governmental economic policy: the state spends over 50 per cent of National Income. Professor Padoa Schioppa Kastoris argues that much of this state action and regulation is irrational and counter-efficient. She then argues that the Italian economy is also characterized by a large and efficient 'black market', and that much of the private sector already evades the command and control imposed by the state. Since de facto deregulation therefore exists to a large extent in the Italian economy, Professor Padoa Schioppa Kastoris calls for legal deregulation and privatization. She argues that a decrease in, and an altered character of, state action will enable the Italian economy to achieve higher rates of growth, and to reconcile the goals of efficiency and public interest. The book reflects a blend of theoretical and empirical work: although much data on the Italian economy is given in the book, the analysis is not technical.