Good relations for good development
One of the latest contribution by the Governor of the Bank of Italy provides a clear overview of issues that must be solved at a global level
Growth and multilateralism, more discerning globalisation and commerce, but also smart migration policies, balanced production, attentive care for the environment and reasonable relations. Looking at what is going on these days around the world, these notions – which rest on a specific global vision – sound almost anachronistic, senseless and, above all, without a future, yet these are precisely the concepts we must nurture to gain a different perspective on social and economic relationships. This is why reading the latest contribution by Vincenzo Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, is a valuable exercise – entitled “Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo” (“Global challenges and multilateral prospects”) and published in September, the article really gets to the heart of a future that we may yet build.
Visco provides a clear and comprehensible analysis of those “difficult moments” – as he defines them – that we are experiencing, explains their inception and provides a way out of them: multilateralism, an approach to be nurtured with care and certainly not easy to attain, and yet, seemingly, the only reasonable one that could prevent a return to opposing blocks whose historical presence is still perceptible.
After an introduction to the topic and a reminder about the great challenges we need to tackle – such as climate, the impact of digitalisation, demographics and great migrations – Visco goes on to explore the “highs and lows” of globalisation, before moving on to current and future “open questions”, beginning with the energy issue unleashed by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the role of China, and what happened on the healthcare front with COVID-19.
Visco reminds us that multilateralism is a complex approach that needs some effort, yet it is an imperative goal because, as he writes, “the subdivision of the world into blocks would endanger the mechanisms that stimulated growth and reduced poverty at a global level.”
The author envisages an ideally deliberate and sensible shift towards good international relationships, without however neglecting all the delicate and complex aspects involved, such as wild globalisation, the advent of new machines and the uncertainties affecting the employment market – as such, knowledge seems to be the other great requirement for a correct multilateralist attitude.
Considering what happened in the last few months, and soon afterwards, “Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo” really contributes to the onset of a culture permeated by the kind of learning that, nowadays, everyone can do with to better understand, and find their bearings in, our current world.
Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo (“Global challenges and multilateral prospects”)
Vincenzo Visco
Marcello De Cecco economics journal
30 September 2023
One of the latest contribution by the Governor of the Bank of Italy provides a clear overview of issues that must be solved at a global level
Growth and multilateralism, more discerning globalisation and commerce, but also smart migration policies, balanced production, attentive care for the environment and reasonable relations. Looking at what is going on these days around the world, these notions – which rest on a specific global vision – sound almost anachronistic, senseless and, above all, without a future, yet these are precisely the concepts we must nurture to gain a different perspective on social and economic relationships. This is why reading the latest contribution by Vincenzo Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, is a valuable exercise – entitled “Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo” (“Global challenges and multilateral prospects”) and published in September, the article really gets to the heart of a future that we may yet build.
Visco provides a clear and comprehensible analysis of those “difficult moments” – as he defines them – that we are experiencing, explains their inception and provides a way out of them: multilateralism, an approach to be nurtured with care and certainly not easy to attain, and yet, seemingly, the only reasonable one that could prevent a return to opposing blocks whose historical presence is still perceptible.
After an introduction to the topic and a reminder about the great challenges we need to tackle – such as climate, the impact of digitalisation, demographics and great migrations – Visco goes on to explore the “highs and lows” of globalisation, before moving on to current and future “open questions”, beginning with the energy issue unleashed by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the role of China, and what happened on the healthcare front with COVID-19.
Visco reminds us that multilateralism is a complex approach that needs some effort, yet it is an imperative goal because, as he writes, “the subdivision of the world into blocks would endanger the mechanisms that stimulated growth and reduced poverty at a global level.”
The author envisages an ideally deliberate and sensible shift towards good international relationships, without however neglecting all the delicate and complex aspects involved, such as wild globalisation, the advent of new machines and the uncertainties affecting the employment market – as such, knowledge seems to be the other great requirement for a correct multilateralist attitude.
Considering what happened in the last few months, and soon afterwards, “Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo” really contributes to the onset of a culture permeated by the kind of learning that, nowadays, everyone can do with to better understand, and find their bearings in, our current world.
Sfide globali e prospettive del multilateralismo (“Global challenges and multilateral prospects”)
Vincenzo Visco
Marcello De Cecco economics journal
30 September 2023