The programme of the Festival

Knowledge, research, innovation and education are the key elements of economic development. Italy spends little to finance university and research, and does not even succeed in distributing these few resources well. Let’s attempt to formulate concrete proposals to improve public financing practices in universities, promote the quality of research, award and provide incentives for merit.

Three specific questions regarding housing within a single event open to the public, in order to obtain clear and transparent advance information: 9.30 - 10.15: informed mortgages; 10.30 - 11.15: buying property under construction; 11.30 - 12.15 : energy certification of property.

organized by Marsilio Editori

In phases of uncertainty the rules determining the power of countries and gender and the generations involved are redefined. The current economic and geopolitical crisis has redrawn the frontiers of economic freedom. What are the new rules and who must take responsibility for avoiding global crises in the future?

Information is the soul of the market and free competition can exist only in a market where all the necessary information actually circulates. Between the borders of economic freedom lies information whose availability can expand or restrict those borders. What do Italians know and understand about economics? How do they inform themselves? And how do they manage information asymmetries, often in the field of finance which had a key role in the last global crisis. This and much more is discussed by the President of ISTAT, who conducted a special survey of economic awareness by Italians, the President of ABI, who represents the banking system, and two economists, one specialized in finance and the other in cognitive theories.

Without freedom, there can be neither a ‘good’ society nor a ‘good’ economy. However, economic actors are never completely free, but always bound by the existing laws and institutions, as well as by the wealth (or poverty) at their disposal. Moreover, the market generates interferences and conflicts with other fundamental principles, above all that of equality. Finding the ‘best’ ways to address and resolve these conflicts between freedom and justice is also one of the main tasks of economics – today more than ever before.

discussed by Paolo Casarin, Gigi Garanzini, Gianfranco Teotino, Damiano Tommasi

organised by Editori Laterza

According to IOM, there are 230 million migrants around the world. Those fleeing  hunger, misery or wars are often the victims of human trafficking. Economic needs, security requirements and different political viewpoints clash, while international crime does not stand by idly.

Reflection on the distortion or advantages of policy “to support the economy”, the effects on economic freedom and market disturbance: a benefit for the economy or a tool for laying claim to supremacy in political, economic and judicial decision-making?

The study of 107 episodes of fiscal consolidation in the OECD countries highlights under what conditions the restructuring of pubic finances can lead to recession and when the governments responsible are punished by the voters in the next round of elections. It turns out that the famous maxim uttered by Jean Claude Juncker “We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it” is perhaps not so true after all.

In the last few months there has been more reflection on the role of women in Italian society than there has been for many years. Problems relating to gender  differences – from quotas for women on management boards to reconciling home and work – are still largely unresolved, both in the world of employment and in the broader economic context, in both the public and private sector. Starting from the direct testimony of three young women who are the winners of a competition promoted by the Vodafone Foundation entitled ‘Imprese e Lavoro’, with the objective of supporting new entrepreneurial initiatives by women, the debate will offer the opportunity to contribute towards the discussion on the relationship between women and the economy.

organised by Assinter Italia – Associazione delle Società per l’Innovazione Tecnologica nelle Regioni - and Informatica Trentina Spa

The use of ICT is fundamental for the growth and development of the national economic system: regional companies for technological innovation and their contribution to growth and the development of “public demand” for information services for the development of collaboration between the public and private sector.

Why do different religions impose or censure different practices?

If a religion prohibits certain foods while another obliges parents to teach their children to read, what are the economic consequences? Why has India decided to abolish an institution – that of the bride’s dowry to the husband – which has existed for millennia in various civilizations? Why do so many civilizations from antiquity to today have religious laws or norms to combat usury, and what effects do these restrictions have? History provides us with the answers.

The session will discuss the need for young people to reinforce their economic and financial literacy. The economy indeed demands the ability to make choices and interpret the characteristics of society, becoming an essential component in modern citizenship, along with other cultural aspects

The pubblic is invited to meet Festival speakers in the cafè

The first months of 2011 have been defined by the major upheavals in a number of Arab countries, all accompanied by demands for more democracy, less power for oligarchies and greater meritocracy in the selection of the ruling class. This Arab 1948 has caught international opinion completely off guard, forcing us to question the profound meaning of these events but also our very ability to understand the times we live in.

Organised by Euricse – European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises and the University of Trento, Department of Law

There are goods and services to which the general logic of competition cannot be applied and which pose a limit to free enterprise. The water supply service is one of these. The session will present some experiences of cooperation in the water supply sector.