Italy - Berluscon's Challenge

Thanks to its dynamic SMEs, Italy had emerged as the largest exporter in the world of food-processing machines, washing machines, fridges, shoes, shoe-making machines, ski-bolts, ceramic tiles, jewels, woolen and silk clothes, boilers, optical frames and neck-ties. In 2000, the value of goods exported by Italy, amounted to $238.7 billion (fob) and imports $228 billion (fob), resulting in a foreign trade surplus of $10.7 billion...

Italy had the second-highest unemployment rate among the EU countries. Unemployment in the southern part of the country was as high as 22% in 2001.

In the early 2000s, most of Italy's politicians seemed to be in agreement about the need for market oriented reforms. Privatization, pension reforms, lower taxes and flexible labor markets were being supported by parties both on the left and the right. But despite this consensus, economists believed a lot remained to be done if Italy did not want to be left behind other G-7 countries...

Exhibit I: Italy at a Glance, 2001
Exhibit II: Italy: Maastricht Treaty Time table
Exhibit III: Italy: EMU Convergence Criteria
Exhibit IV: Italy: Main Privatizations in the 1990s