Financial integration is likely to entail EEC-wide convergence in both inflation rates and bank reserve requirements, thereby lowering some governments’ seignorage revenues. These revenue losses, however, may be offset by concomitant effects on exchange rate expectations and on interest rates...

This paper describes the institutional changes that have induced a decline in the vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) - defined as the share of sub-national own spending not financed through own revenues - in four European countries: Belgium, Italy, Norway, and Spain. The decline in VFI was achieved...

This paper reviews economic developments in Italy during 1995–96. The performance of the Italian economy in 1996 was characterized by a marked decline in inflation and a strengthening of the external position, accompanied however by lackluster growth. The slowdown in economic activity was more...

This Selected Issues paper describes stylized facts, institutions, and directions for reform in the Italian labor market. The paper examines developments in aggregate features of the labor market. It highlights that during the latest cyclical recovery, total employment has remained stagnant and...

This paper focuses on selected aspects of Italy’s fiscal situation, its origins, and its pervasive economic consequences. The paper analyzes different aspects of regional duality and the unbalanced recovery. The paper highlights that regional duality is a salient feature of the Italian...

This paper reviews the flaws of the Italian tax system during the 1990s and the rationale for reform. The paper highlights that a fundamental reform of the tax system took place in 1971–73, and introduced three main innovations: the concentration of tax authority almost exclusively at the...

Based on the economic literature, various policy measures and institutions in the product and labor markets that increase growth and employment are studied. From a cross-country approach, this study finds a significant relationship between Vertical Fiscal Imbalances (VFIs) and fiscal performance...

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...

We examine how the cost of corporate credit varies around fiscal consolidations aimed at reducing government debt. Using a new dataset on fiscal consolidations and syndicated corporate loan data, we find that loan spreads increase with fiscal consolidations, especially for small firms, domestic...

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...