This 2004 Article IV Consultation highlights that a cyclical recovery is under way for Italy, with real GDP having risen by 1.2 percent in the first three quarters of 2004 relative to the same period of the previous year, thanks to the favorable external environment and a recovery of investment....

Italy has made impressive strides in achieving deep-rooted macroeconomic stability. But growth has disappointed over the past decade. The government has laid out a bold agenda to reinvigorate growth. Specifics of an expenditure and tax reform agenda should be laid out early. A key to achieving...

This 2012 Article IV Consultation focuses on Italy’s economy, which is expected to continue contracting through the year owing to tight financial conditions, global slowdown, and the needed fiscal consolidation. The government has embarked on wide-ranging structural reforms to boost...

Italy’s economic development after the recession is analyzed in this study. Earnings were hampered by low net interest and high loan-loss provisions, but banks remained profitable. A large and stable retail funding base and ample collateral to access eurosystem refinancing helped Italian banks...

There is broad agreement on the appropriateness of the budget deficit target. The government aims to strengthen expenditure control and efficiency, at the national and at subnational levels, to achieve a reduction in the tax burden while cutting the fiscal deficit. The IMF staff suggested...

This Selected Issues paper for Italy presents updated estimates of potential growth for Italy, using new techniques that draw on co-movements of output, employment, and inflation over the business cycle to distinguish trends from cycles. The paper provides an assessment of an area—corporate...

This 2005 Article IV Consultation highlights that despite the better cyclical outlook, medium-term trends for Italy remain troubling: potential growth is estimated at just 11⁄4 percent, as low productivity growth and high domestic costs have led to a steady erosion of competitiveness and...

This paper discusses a Detailed Assessment of the Observance of the Insurance Core Principles for Italy. The assessment reveals that insurance supervision in Italy occurs within a legal framework that incorporates the relevant European Union Directives. More than two-thirds of the principles...

This Detailed Assessment Report focuses on Anti–Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) for Italy. The assessment reveals that overall, the current AML/CFT framework in Italy is extensive and mature, and achieves a high degree of compliance with most of the...

This Selected Issues paper investigates the factors behind the deterioration in Italy’s international competitiveness. It concludes that the loss of competitiveness accumulated by Italian firms in recent years is mainly a consequence of weak long-term productivity performance. The paper...