This is an English translation of a petition put together by a group of Italian economists which is seeking and has gained significant support from economists both inside and outside of Italy. It is due to appear tomorrow in the Italian Press. Additional signatures are welcome. Please see details about where to send them below. Many thanks to Sergio Cesaratto for sending it on.
To the Parliament of the Republic, to the Political Parties
In this difficult period Italy needs an authoritative government which is able to act with determination in both the European and global context. Although we do not neglect the recent serious responsibilities of the Italian ruling class which has been unable to bring about a process of modernisation of the country necessary to put it back on a growth path, the Italian economic stagnation in the last decade has its main cause in the European macroeconomic context, and particularly in the absence in the Eurozone of fiscal and monetary policies aimed at sustaining economic growth, full employment, trade balances between the Monetary Union members, and with which to provide a greater distribution equality within and among countries.
The European crisis, worsening particularly after the financial market attack on Italian sovereign debt, finds its origin in the lack of this pro-growth context, and can only partially be explained by the progressive collapse of credibility of the former government. The absence of the traditional role of lender of last resort within the mission of the European Central Bank (ECB) is an additional explanation of the dramatic assault on Italian and other Eurozone sovereign debt. The financial measures adopted by the Eurozone governments to sustain the sovereign debts of the European periphery, like the EFSF, have been revealed to be largely inefficient at solving the financial crisis of the small peripheral countries, let alone to face that of the larger peripheral economies. The contractionary fiscal measures that have accompanied the European financial support provided have worsened the recession and the financial crisis of those countries. At the moment the Eurozone is without a compass. Because of the opposition of the stronger European countries, it has even rejected the proposal advanced at the recent G-20 summit of a special emission of Special Drawing Rights by the IMF in order to support the sovereign debts under attack. The survival of the Monetary Union and even of the Single Market are at stake.
We believe that the current situation and the solution to its short and long period causes can only be met within the context of a progressive change of all European policies; in this framework Italy must also endeavour to make necessary reforms. We stand for a stronger coordination of the European fiscal, monetary and wage governance subject to a complete commitment to full employment. For this reason we oppose a balanced public budget clause in the national Constitution.
In these circumstances we maintain that the new Italian government should rapidly act through the appropriate European institution, with the required determination and political alliances, to obtain a firm and unlimited guarantee by the ECB on the European sovereign debts with the aim of lowering the interest rates to a pre-crisis level. This intervention has been supported by the American Administration and by many international economists of different theoretical persuasions. Also relying on this authoritative support, we believe that policies of fiscal contraction are counterproductive. The request of the ECB pro-active role should therefore be accompanied by a commitment not to reduce the ratio of national public debts on GDP, but rather to stabilize this ratio at the current levels. Financial markets would understand this commitment and appreciate it. A new Italian government, either composed by “technocrats” or by politicians, that limited its duty as a mere executor of the European requests, as expressed in the last weeks, would cause a worsening of the financial crisis, at the Italian, European and world level, with devastating social consequences, and the unsustainability of the present European monetary and trade institutions. Firm in denouncing such perils, Italy should be an inflexible promoter at the European and G-20 levels of prompt fiscal and monetary policies to sustain aggregate demand, particularly in the trade surplus national economies.
The reduction of the interest rates in association with the commitment to the stabilisation of the sovereign debt/GDP ratio, in the context of international expansionary policies, would in Italy (and elsewhere) free the necessary resources to sustain growth on the aggregate demand side and support competitiveness. More specifically, we believe that these resources – with those forthcoming from a serious attempt to reduce tax evasion and from an ordinary (not una tantum) wealth tax – should be used in the first place to reduce the tax burden on wages, increasing net wages; to support education, R&D and culture; to sustain public investment to promote public direct involvement in production; to Mezzogiorno and the environment, and to sustain legality. Around these objectives an authoritative new Italian government should commit itself in Europe to asking and returning dedication and trust to the Italian people.
(Petition and signatures – regularly updated – will be posted in http://documentoeconomisti.blogspot.com/)
Signatures
(Further signatures are welcomed, please send them to Sergio Cesaratto ((Università di Siena) Cesaratto@unisi.it, Roberto Ciccone (Università di Roma3) Ciccone@uniroma3.it, Antonella Stirati (Università di Roma3) astirati@uniroma3.it )
Acocella Nicola, Università di Roma 1
Artoni Roberto, Università Bocconi Milano
Bagnai Alberto, Università Gabriele D’Annunzio Pescara
Barba Aldo, Università di Napoli Federico II
Bellini Enrico, Università Cattolica Milano
Biagioli Marco, Università di Parma
Blankenburg Stephanie, SOAS Università di Londra
Bosco Luigi, Università di Siena
Bosi Paolo, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Canale Rosaria Rita, Università di Napoli Parthenope
Cangiani Michele, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Carrera Antonio Cuerpo, Università Complutense Madrid (Spagna)
Jorge Carreto, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM),
Caselli Gianpaolo, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Castellano Rosaria, Università di Macerata
Cesaratto Sergio, Università di Siena
Chiodi Guglielmo, Università di Roma 1
Ciccone Roberto, Università di Roma 3
Contini Bruno, “S. Cognetti de Martiis” Università di Torino
Costabile Lilia, Università di Napoli Federico II
D’Ippoliti Carlo, Università di Roma 1
De Cecco Marcello, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
De Muro Pasquale, Università di Roma 3
De Vivo Giancarlo, Università di Napoli
Devillanova Carlo, Università Bocconi Milano
Luca Fantacci, Università Bocconi Milano
Farina Francesco, Università di Siena
Febrero Panos Eladio, Università di Castilla La Mancha (Spagna)
Felice Emanuele, Università autonoma di Barcellona (Spagna)
Fiorito Luca, Università di Palermo
Franzini Maurizio, Università di Roma 1
Saverio M. Fratini, Università di Roma 3
Fubini Lia, Università di Torino
Ghignoni Emanuela, Università di Roma 1
Ginzburg Andrea, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Gnesutta Claudio, Università di Roma 1
Hodgson Geoffrey, Università di HertfordShire (RU)
King John, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Australia)
Krimpas George E., Università di Atene (Grecia)
Lavoie Marc, Università di Ottawa (Canada)
Enrico Sergio Levrero, Università di Roma 3
Lombardi Mauro, Università di Firenze
Loperato Francis Luiz C., Università di Campinas (Brasile)
Lucarelli Stefano, Università di Bergamo
Lugli Loris, già direttore IRES Emilia Romagna
Lunghini Giorgio, Università di Pavia
Maffeo Vincenzo, Università di Roma 1
Marani Ugo, Università di Napoli Federico II
Marcuzzo Maria Cristina, Università di Roma 1
Mongiovi Gary, St.Johns University (USA)
Morroni Mario, Università di Pisa
Napolitano Oreste, Università di Napoli Parthenope
Nuti Domenico Mario, Università di Roma 1
Ofria Ferdinando, Università di Messina
Madsen Ove Mogens, Aalborg University (Danimarca)
Pagano Ugo, Università di Siena
Paladini Ruggeri , Università di Roma 1
Palazzi Paolo, Università di Roma 1
Palumbo Antonella, Università di Roma 3
Panico Carlo, Università di Napoli
Park Man-Seop, Università di Seul (Corea del sud)
Pastrello Gabriele, Università di Trieste
Podkaminer Leon, Wiener Institut für Internationale Wirtschaftsvergleiche Vienna (Austria)
Pennacchi Laura, Fondazione Basso
Picchio Antonella, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Pivetti Massimo, Università di Roma 1
Pugno Maurizio, Università di Cassino
Ramazzotti Paolo, Università di Macerata
Rangone Marco, Università di Padova
Ravagnani Fabio, Università di Roma 1
Realfonzo Riccardo, Università del Sannio
Louis-Philippe Rochon, Laurentian University, Ontario (Canada)
Rossi Sergio, Università di Friburgo (Svizzera)
Saccareccia Mario, Università di Ottawa (Canada)
Sacconi Lorenzo, Università di Trento (direttore Econmetica)
Sau Lino, “S. Cognetti de Martiis” Università di Torino
Sawyer Malcolm, Università di Leeds
Schiattarella Roberto, Università di Camerino
Solari Stefano, Università di Padova
Stefania Gabriele, dirigente ricerca CNR
Stirati Antonella, Università di Roma 3
Stefano Sylos Labini, ENEA Roma
Tiberi Mario, Università di Roma 1
Travaglini Carlo, M., Università di Roma 3
Tridico Pasquale Università di Roma 3
Alfonso Vadillo, Facultad de Economía
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
Vercelli Alessandro, Università di Siena
Watt Andrew, Senior researcher European Trade Union Institute
Zezza Gennaro Università di Cassino e Levy Institute (USA)
Latest posts by Sergio Cesaratto (see all)
- The Target of German Economists - February 23, 2012
- A Petition To the Parliament of the Italian Republic, to the Political Parties of Italy - November 16, 2011
- From the Failure of Europe to Possible Growth in the Real Economy - November 15, 2011
- The European Upside Down World: Why the nth European agreement is a step back - July 27, 2011
- The European crisis: political and institutional failures or method in the madness? - May 9, 2011
