National identities are largely moulded around cultural values such as community spirit, faith in others and the central nature of the family. These values condition the economy, politics and society in a profound manner. To what extent can they explain the differences between different economic systems and social models? Are we all moving towards the same social model? Are national identities at risk in the era of globalisation? And what is happening during the crisis?
 

The so-called "slow economy " is an integral part of the slow challenge to productivism. The 110 slow cities linked to Slow Food promote the quality of life. The small city makes a mark on the metropolis, rediscovering the specific characteristics of areas and making the most of its identity, by bringing together the positive aspects of the past and today's technology.

The common identity of players and businesses in industrial districts is one of the constituent elements today menaced by the world crisis. The previous systems of relations based on faith may represent both an advantage in facing new adversities and a stumbling block to making indispensible changes. Is there a future for industrial districts as we know them?
 

The subprime mortgage crisis in the United States has spread across the globe, amplified and becoming systemic as a result of networking effects arising when financial institutions are lenders and borrowers at the same time. A number of economic mechanisms have played a role in the liquidity and credit  crunch. The  effects of large quantities of bad loan write-downs on  borrowers' balance sheets caused two "liquidity spirals".  As asset prices dropped, financial institutions not only had less capital but also more difficulty borrowing, because of tightened lending standards. The two spirals forced financial institutions to shed assets and reduce their leverage. This led to fire sales, lower prices, and even tighter funding, amplifying the crisis beyond the mortgage market.  Lending channels dried up when banks, concerned about their future access to capital markets, hoarded funds from borrowers regardless of credit-worthiness. Runs on financial institutions following the mortgage crisis, as in the cases of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and others, can and did suddenly erode bank capital.
As the risk of insolvency is high, a spiral of credit restrictions is set in motion which takes the system to the edge of the collapse. However on this occasion the central banks have reacted differently as compared to 1929.
 

President MASSIMO GAGGI, Prosecution LUIGI SPAVENTA, Defence PIER CARLO PADOAN and ANDREA PRAT
Depositions by FRANCESCO CASELLI, ALBERTO GIOVANNINI, GIOVANNI MAJNONI, CHISTOPHER MORRIS, SALVATORE ROSSI, JEAN TIROLE, WILLIAM WHITE, LUIGI ZINGALES

Is it possible for an entrepreneur to maintain his own identity once he enters the nerve centres of political power? Can he remain coherent with his ideas for innovation and growth, fighting for these to finally be transformed into reality? How does the external world change when observed from inside the "Palace of Power”?

Numerous ideas from psychology and sociology have been taken up by economists in their analysis of human motivation and economic organisation. Ideas that have been dormant in economics for more than a century re-emerge in modern economic theory that is less isolated from other social sciences.
 

Around the world there are countries with a population of 11 thousand, along with nations such as China, with more than one billion 300 million inhabitants. There are countries that divide and countries that reunite or become a part of regional blocks such as the European Union. What is the ideal size for nations from an economic point of view? And to what extent can economics explain these tendencies?

What are the roles and skills that the global economic system entrusts to the new generation of  talent in this period of crisis? What are the responsibilities of political and economic systems in the OECD countries that wish to make the most of new generations and cultivate creativity and innovation?
 

How can we learn to trust strangers? Why are there good and bad neighbourhoods? Does ethnic diversity matter for our welfare? Why do some animals prefer a single partner while others prefer several? And, what has our brain to do with it?

Time-use data allows economists to get a better idea of the way households organise their lives and time, enabling them to understand how men and women share work and leisure and how the unemployed organise the time available when they are not employed in the market.
In particular, time-use data from four countries shows that the unemployed spend most of their time in additional leisure and personal activities, rather than in increased household production, with little relation between the duration of unemployment and the division of time between household and leisure activities, particularly in areas of long-term unemployment and in contrast to areas where unemployment has risen cyclically.

speakers NICHOLAS BLOOM (video link) and TOMMASO MONACELLI, lavoce.info
During the debate the book written by the economists of lavoce.info Il mondo sull’orlo di una crisis di nervi, edited by Loriana Pelizzon, Castelvecchi editore (2009), will be presented.
 

The financial crisis and the subsequent recession have sparked off powerful protectionist forces. Globalisation, which has contributed so decisively to development in the last few years, is in danger. The transfrontier regions, which have been at the forefront in processes of integration between the  economies of different states, can act as a defence against pressure to move backwards. What initiatives and which alliances may be most effective?

Inequality linked to the caste system  and a spoiled collective identity has given rise to a range of behaviour affecting development, including effects on cognitive performance, norm enforcement and cooperation. Various studies and  experiments in India have demonstrated repeatedly that the caste system affects not only relations between groups, but also within groups. Assumptions can lead to systematic bias that is significant for development and that economics can help to explain.
 

The identity of peoples and nations is an historic construction. It often generates conflict: the Greeks – like the Romans – defined themselves in contrast to the Barbarians. In the modern and contemporary age new peoples have been constructed as a result of wars and processes of integration, characterised by territorial but also by cultural, ethnic and religious identities, to which one chooses to belong.

Italians know less about finance than their American counterparts. This ignorance gives rise to considerable costs for the individual saver, who must choose between increasingly complex financial products. We try to estimate these in the USA and evaluate how they can be reduced with financial education. It may also be useful for our country.
 

Economic solidarity networks sprang up in Brazil in the 1990s in order to provide a concrete response to people's needs and as a tool for promoting an alternative local and sustainable economy. They offer an alternative proposal for dealing positively with the current global crisis.

In 1933 regulation of the stock market was introduced in the USA in order to recover faith in the financial markets. Today a new approach is  necessary in order to deal with the crisis and it is already possible to identify solutions to replace and perfect regulation.

 

The revolution of Sicilian entrepreneurs who have rejected the Mafia racket and collusion provides a possible model for change in the context of a global crisis. There is a strong risk of deviating from legality. Criminal bullying has been countered by a reaction based on a strong ethical driving force, the request for certain rules and legislative measures that are effective in combating increasingly globalised Mafia organisations.

From one crash to another, the constant feature is the nationalisation of losses caused by incompetent and dishonest managers. In prosperous times, top management cashes in with stock options and astronomical bonuses, whereas when companies are ruined, the bill is passed on to the community. In this way the system of incentives and deterrents which lies at the foundation of the market economy is completely undermined. The selection made by the competitive system is distorted by annulling the principle of responsibility.