(Finance) – Scientific research, informal dissemination, pluralism of ideas, independence from political and economic conditioning are the ingredients of Turin International Festival of Economicsdirected by Tito Boeri and designed and engineered by Laterza publishers. The Festival is divided into numerous events and initiatives, within the most evocative places in Turin.
“The Festival this year has as its theme ‘Rethinking Globalisation’ because it is an extremely relevant topic, which among other things interests a very large audience, because it affects our daily life”, he explained Tito BoeriScientific Director of the International Festival of Economics.
“For this Festival we have commissioned an investigation to an opinion poll institute – Boeri underlined – which documented to us how, in Italy, as well as in other countries, public opinion is divided: on the one hand those who think that the globalization is a good thing, because it allows you to communicate with the rest of the world, to travel, reduce distances and access goods produced all over the world; on the other hand those who see the globalization as a dangerbecause they are afraid for their jobs, they fear that governments will lose sovereignty as we move towards a more globalized economy”.
“Globalization is not an immanent fact, something inevitable. There are possible corrective actionswhich can be adopted, arrangements for increase benefits of globalization and reduce its costs“, continues the economist, noting “globalization is driven by technological progress and therefore it is a trend that will continue in the coming years. What can be done is to govern globalization and redirect technological progress.”
The President of INPS did not deny that there are also negative effects of globalization which need to be addressed. “One of these – he stated – is that of inequalities in advanced countrieswhere it is necessary to find forms of protection that support those who are most unfortunate and who lose their jobs as a result of this process”.
For Joseph Laterza, Editorial Committee of the International Festival of Economics, this event “deals with a fundamental phenomenon such as globalization, which affects us all, and examines all its aspects, not only that relating to international trade, but also changes in technology, problems, the social and economic inequalities“.
“The Festival – added Laterza – will take into consideration the opinion of economists and non-economists, who deal with the social and cultural aspects of globalization and immigration. There are those who speak of a slowdown of globalizationbecause it was too fast and had disruptive effects, and who speaks of a governance of globalizationthat is, to be able to create institutional or market instruments to ensure that its negative effects are at least reduced and offset, perhaps by forms of social protection and insurance, which can reduce the inequalities caused by globalisation”.
“Rethinking globalization is a need well placed from this Festival of Economics in Turin, particularly timely at a time when the path of globalization, which we have known for some decades now, has stopped and in part reversed and is being disturbed above all by warring or hegemonic conflicts such as the one underway between United States and China”, commented the Senator for life Mario Monti.
“There challenge of this moment I believe it is that of maintain and safeguard a market economy – open markets governed by the rules of international trade – which have allowed countries to grow and globalise, bearing in mind that globalization must be governed so that it does not cause appalling imbalances in the distribution of income and wealth and because all the relevant problems can now be managed and resolved only by multilateral forms of governance like the G20. It is therefore a very topical, thorny and fundamental issue”.
Also present at the Turin Economy Festival Intesa Sanpaoloone of several partner of the Festivalwho presented the report “From the economy of abundance to the illusion of enough”created in collaboration with the Luigi Einaudi research center, presented by Mario DeaglioProfessor Emeritus of the University of Turin.
“There globalization as we knew it in the 80s it’s over. It is now in progress narrowing of areaswhere each area tries to do as much as possible on its own, without reaching the strong closure of the borders of the past, but with a strong limitation of traffic”, explained Deaglio, adding “then there is a major demographic problembecause Africa at the end of the century will have as many inhabitants as Asia”.
“Italy is a strange country– he underlined – is like a bumblebee and it is thought that it will never fly, instead somehow it is going”. Among the problems, the Professor mentioned the escape and the need to redistribute income produced by it, to tell young people the chances they have never had. We need to give people the opportunity to have a life plan”.
For Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, Chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo, this “does not mean a completely negative change”. “Abundance can always be considered something positive, but Enough you mean that there is everything you need. One of the problems we have in the long term, which mainly concerns i young – he explained – is the fact that the development, as we have seen it in recent decades, has begun to deprive the planet of resources. We have to be more carefull we are changing the planet and we must therefore take responsibility: enough means making absolutely bearable sacrifices in view of a more balanced and less risky future”.
“The profit concept it must be expanded and replaced from an object of well-being, which must be reasonably distributed. The creation of value must be inclusive and above all it is necessary to ensure that young people have a future on which they can rely, a future in which they are convinced that they can do well, build a family and have a reward for investments, including time and effort what are they doing”.
“The Italian economy All right, better than other European economies, especially of Germany and France, which are leaders. – recognized Gros-Pietro – It’s better because it is more flexible. In a period in which there are strong changes caused by external events, it is necessary to readapt, readjust and reorientate. The Italian companies they always have been faster to do so, but compared to the past today they are stronger, less indebted and with greater technological skills. These are the reasons why we do better, but we also need competent people.
About the‘inflationthe Chairman of Intesa recalled that “it was caused by a supply shock – shortage of energy sources, shortage of grain and other raw materials – and from the effects of war. The offer shock it is cured by increasing the supply and making investmentseven if it is difficult to make investments in a period of high interest rates, which central banks deem necessary to prevent the supply shock from turning into a price-wage spiral”.