The Global Competitiveness Report 2016–2017 - Italia scende
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[color=red][b]The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 138 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity.[/b][/color]
Italy’s competitiveness score has improved but
more slowly than others’, and it slips one spot to 44th. Its
financial and labor markets and institutions continue to be
its weakest areas, with rankings below 100th. Reforms
implemented in recent years have improved businesses’
perception of ethics and corruption (up 14), but publicsector
performance remains poor, with pervasive red
tape and a highly inefficient judicial system. Italy’s labor
market has become more efficient (up 17 since 2014):
hiring and firing practices have been made more flexible
and a framework was provided for more decentralized
wage determination, but the full benefits of these
reforms will require time and more cooperative laboremployer
relations. In the meantime, Italy continues to
squander its talent: in the south of the country, only one
in three women work (according to the Italian Institute of
Statistics (ISTAT), women’s employment rate in southern
Italy was 30.6 percent in 2015), while reforms to the
pension system introduced in 2012, albeit necessary,
have further closed the job market to youth. Financial
market development (122nd) is Italy’s weakest link: the
banking sector is burdened by non-performing loans, and
some institutions need recapitalization. Recent scandals
in mutual banks have further undermined trust, while
governance issues—including the strong link with local
banking foundations—have been only partially addressed.
Italy has strengthened its macroeconomic position,
but public debt remains high in light of low inflation.
Innovation and business sophistication remain among the
strengths of the Italian economy and Italy continues to
improve important dimensions of its digital readiness as
seen in the World Economic Forum’s Global Information
Technology Report 2016.
https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-competitiveness-report-2016-2017-1