Rigidity in Italian business,
labour and the bureaucracy are all serious problems weighing
down the national economy, Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco
warned Friday.
That's creating a significant problem for growth, leading
to economic stagnation, Visco added in comments at a conference
at Rome's LUISS university, marking the 100th anniversary of the
birth of economist Guido Carli.
Visco noted that Carli, who also served as governor of the
central bank from 1960 to 1975, raised similar concerns about
bureaucratic barriers to growth at a time when Italy was
struggling with the price inflation that shook much of the world
during the 1970s.
"Rigidity in legislation, bureaucracy, corporations, and
unions are always the principal hindrance to development in our
country," said Visco.
The consequences today "are different from those that were
manifested in the 1970s; at that time it was inflation, today,
it is stagnation".
Susanna Camusso, secretary-general of Italy's biggest trade
union CGIL, said that it seemed Visco was "repeating the same
recipes that have already failed".
Raffaele Bonanni, secretary-general of the CISL union,
dismissed Visco's words as "nonsense".
Meanwhile, Visco urged continued structural reforms in the
Italy economy, adding that early signs of economic recovery are
encouraging but need to be supported.
"Only by tackling the structural problems that had put the
brakes on the Italian economy even before the current
crisis...will it be possible to return on the path of a strong
and lasting recovery," he said.
Italy's gross domestic product fell by an average of 1.9%
last year, but began to recover in the third-quarter and
agencies including the IMF forecast growth of 0.6% this year,
rising to 1.1% in 2015.
GDP fell 2.4% in 2012, according to revised data from
national statistical agency Istat.
To boost growth, Premier Matteo Renzi has been announcing a
wide range of economic and labour market reforms, including
public-spending cuts to free up cash to finance income tax cuts
for low-income earners, spending on social programs, and a
multibillion euro repayment of bills owed by government to
business.
Renzi has also pledged reforms to the Italy's electoral
system and has begun the legislative process of eliminating an
entire layer of government at the provincial level.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
