“The Edison Foundation. Ten years for the Italian economy in Europe”
Held this morning in Milan was the presentation of the book “La Fondazione Edison. Dieci anni per l’economia italiana in Europa” published by economists Marco Fortis and Alberto Quadrio Curzio. The book covers the history of Italy’s economy through the ideas and research carried out by the Foundation which was set up in Milan in 1999.
After welcoming and thanking the guests, Edison Foundation president Umberto Quadrino called upon the authors, who are also members of the Foundation’s scientific committee, and guests Assolombarda president Alberto Meomartini and Professor Romano Prodi, to speak.
Alberto Quadrio Curzio underlined the guidelines that inspired the institution of the Edison Foundation and the policies that inspire research. These include the districts, the territory and Made in Italy; the role of medium-sized and large Italian companies; technology and innovation; infrastructures, local public services and credit; the Italian, European and world context, against a background of efforts to combine social liberalism with united federalism in the constant search for equilibrium between institutions and the market.
After going over some of the salient points that characterized the Foundation’s scientific activities starting from the paradigms and indicators that were proposed for making a new contribution to the economic debate, Marco Fortis vindicated the role played by Italy’s manufacturing industry and reiterated its importance for the near future.
To demonstrate that there is a way out of the crisis and that Italy is not necessarily condemned to decline, Fortis maintained that the importance of industry in the economy is not only direct, it is also generated indirectly and in Italy it is very strong.
The wealthiest Italian regions in terms of GNP per capita are in fact those characterized by the importance of industry for generating added value and, because it is deeply rooted, the levels of unemployment are among the lowest and increased to a lesser extent even during the crisis. Moreover, Fortis added, Italian competitiveness in exporting manufactured goods is still very high and is still doing well, despite the fact that the traditional domestic competitiveness indicators are very low.
The two guests spoke with cautious optimism about the country’s future.
Alberto Meomartini, president of Assolombarda and also representing Confederation of Italian Industry president, Emma Marcegaglia, acknowledged the important role played by the Edison Foundation in stimulating and contributing to research and went on to underscore that if the country is to grow again, it needs stability and must solve certain structural issues such as youth orientation. In particular, Meomartini emphasized the need for university reform and research, which would require a physiological agreement between the academic and business worlds. He also talked about the lack of a real technical school.
Professor Romano Prodi stated that the Edison Foundation can take major credit for prompting thoughts and reflections about the Italian economy in recent years. He said that he hoped that it would continue along these lines and then gave his own opinion about the current state of the economy: "The global crisis is definitely not at an end, but when it is over the world will be completely different and the consequences for our production structure are unimaginable today".
"The growth rate in the rest of the world, not only in China and Asia, but also Turkey, India, Brazil and to a certain extent also Africa” - Prodi explained – “to a certain extent will catch the previous business life off guard and make the world different. Italy’s stance must not be the same as it was in the past".
After emphasizing that economies of scale and distribution will be completely changed by the crisis, Prodi pointed out that with the instigation of a real industrial policy and strong investment in training, the priority will be to attract foreign investments so that in terms of the global economy, Italy will be linked to the rest of the world.
