Tyler/Luigi Zingales
Italy was leading the charge in Europe in the 1980s. No longer
Italy boomed in the wrong direction in the 1980s. They led the charge in non-tech industries as other countries got more advanced
Italy didn’t have strong national culture before 1860s (other than small elite)
Huge gap emerged between northern and southern Italy
Parallels between Italian unification and European unification. Small elite who feel European impose unification on unhappy population
Italy hasn’t scaled up the way US companies have (1980s - scale didn’t matter as much as it does today)
Italy = “only” country that doesn’t have Starbucks
Italy’s biggest problem = Low birth rate (1.3 TFR)
Generals are always prepared t fight the last war. Same wig economists
Derek Parfit - the Repugnant Conclusion (Google this)