The Tartar Steppe of Italian Growth: Strategies for Renewal in a Slowing Europe

Mauro Napoletano () and Francesco Toni ()
Additional contact information
Mauro Napoletano: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po, SSSA - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Francesco Toni: UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur

Working Papers from HAL

Abstract: Italy's economy has been characterized by a long-standing malaise markedby low growth, stagnant productivity, and high public debt. In recent years,these weaknesses have been compounded by declining real wages, the underutilization and outward migration of skilled labor, widening territorialdisparities, and a rise in income and wealth inequality. The country's pro-ductive structure remains concentrated in traditional sectors, dominated bysmall firms, and underrepresented in strategic industries with high potentialfor productivity gains. Drawing on macroeconomic and sectoral evidence,this policy brief assesses Italy's current position and outlines the measuresneeded to reverse these trends. It argues for an industrial strategy that com-bines state-market complementarities, long-term coordination, and polycentric governance, supported by policies to halt real wage decline and reduce in-equality, with the aim of rebuilding productive capacity and ensuring broadly-shared prosperity.

Keywords: Policies; European Union; Productivity Dynamics; Inequality; Economic Growth; Public Debt; Italy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-05391625v1
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-05391625v1/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05391625

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().