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)