The history of the welfare state in Italy, between the public and private sectors and between individuals and businesses

The Welfare State. The complex and delicate system that a government creates to guarantee a “combination of social rights, individual freedoms and principles of basic equality”, as Chiara Giorgi and Ilaria Pavan outline in their interesting book “Storia dello Stato sociale in Italia” (The History of the Welfare State in Italy). It has just been published and is a good read for anyone wanting to get a clear picture of the key aspects of the subject, both in its historical context and its current relevance. In some ways, the welfare state goes hand in hand with the construction and growth of corporate welfare, which might appear to be a novelty today but which has been part of Italy’s history for many decades, in various forms and terms.

Giorgi and Pavan have written a book that is a real source of knowledge and that begins with an observation, as the main tool for protecting citizens’ rights in response to individual and collective risks and needs, for years, the welfare state has been at the centre of a debate that tends to ignore its history. As is always the case, however, we must start from history to understand the present, even when it comes to the welfare state and welfare in general.

In the book, the authors recount the history of the welfare state through the 20th century up to the present day. This is no mean feat, as it tells the story of the welfare state in terms of its three pillars, welfare, health and care. This is done using an approach that combines political and institutional processes as well as social, economic and cultural ones. It starts with Italy’s liberal age and moves on to the Fascist period, the Republican era and finally, the present day.

Giorgi and Pavan’s book does not offer any definitive conclusions or suggestions for improving the Italian welfare state to fit with the modern world or in its relations with private and corporate welfare, but it is a book with great value. It manages to summarise a complex topic, providing an invaluable information resource for all public and private welfare stakeholders in Italy.

Storia dello Stato sociale in Italia (The History of the Welfare State in Italy)

Chiara Giorgi, Ilaria Pavan

Il Mulino, 2021

There is one image with an extraordinary symbolic power that characterises the long and dramatic 20th century, it is the Angelus Novus, painted by Paul Klee, which looks back on the rubble of history. With his restless, visionary, critical and profoundly melancholic intelligence, Walter Benjamin‘s intense writing is worth re-reading to reflect on how to link historical knowledge with the need to plan for the future, in other words, how to remember and build more balanced civil, social and economic structures at the same time. Benjamin wrote on Klee’s painting “an angel is looking as though he is about to move away from something he is fixedly contemplating. His eyes are staring, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how one pictures the angel of history. His face turned toward the past. Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling up wreckage on wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead and make whole that which has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise. It has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. This storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress”.

Today, under pressure from dramatic contemporary events (the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, the worsening problems linked to Climate Change, the Covid19 pandemic and the serious global recession it has caused), we have to insist on the urgency of a “paradigm shift” in terms of economic and social development. We must critically review the idea of “progress” (as Aldo Schiavone does very effectively in a book published a few months ago by Il Mulino) and also rethink the political, economic and cultural choices linked to prospects for development. To recover from the Covid19 crisis, the EU is urging us to design such development to be sustainable, focusing the Recovery Plan on the green economy and the digital economy, and above all, focusing on the younger generations, including schools, long-term training and knowledge.

In this respect, another piece of literature is worth re-reading to find food for thought in the “classics” of the last century. In 1926, John Maynard Keynes wrote in “The end of Laissez-faire” “I think that capitalism, wisely managed, can probably be made more efficient for attaining economic ends than any alternative system yet in sight, but that in itself is in many ways extremely objectionable. Our problem is to come up with a social organisation which will be as efficient as possible without offending our notions of a satisfactory way of life”.

The evocative imagery of Klee’s Angelus Novus interpreted by Benjamin and the strategy of Keynes-style reformism as the foundations of a better corporate culture, that focuses on sustainable development, resonated last week during the seminar on corporate heritage and digital transformation. The event was organised by Museimpresa with talks from James M. Bradburne, director general of the Pinacoteca di Brera, Eleonora Lorenzini, director of the Observatory for Digital Innovation in Heritage and Culture at the Milan Polytechnic, Samanta Isaia, operations director at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Marco Amato, director of the Lavazza Museum and Paola Dubini, professor of Management at Bocconi University.

The basic idea is to use the technologies and languages of the digital world to enrich museum and live cultural experiences (from autumn onwards, when the vaccine roll-out will hopefully enable us to attend meetings, travel and visit museums, theatres, music venues and cultural centres again) and to enhance the public and private cultural heritage of institutions and companies, as a powerful engine for quality economic and social development. Linking memory and innovation, the heritage of the “beautiful and well-made”, scientific research and technological change to achieve a profound renewal in the quality of life and work.

An original fusion of the Angelus Novus that changes the way we look to the future, and the Keynesian lesson of an “open society” liberalism with a strong social conscience.

During the Museimpresa seminar, which featured a wealth of technologically innovative experiences and suggestions for cultural strategies, it was argued that all of this can be found in the experience and plans of Italian businesses, which make culture and sustainability a pillar of their competitiveness. Museums and corporate archives are providing up-to-date evidence of this.

Italy is creativity, enterprising spirit and the sense of an open and inclusive community. It is participation. Even in these times of sickness and pain, it has revealed a social capital of extraordinary value, rooted in tradition, the genius loci of beauty and “doing well”, combined with a strong innovative spirit. To use words dear to Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic, who insisted on “seriousness, responsibility and solidarity”, our duty today is to “remember”. It’s also necessary to build a future, a better future for the Next Generation. This is a broader cultural challenge.

Doing, producing, preserving and innovating all share a lowest common denominator, that is culture. The real common thread that runs through the Italian system, a strong point in our open and dialectic identity, and of our international competitiveness. This heritage that is the envy of the world and today, more than ever before, it is a catalyst for reconstruction and development.

Polytechnic culture, science and world-class research. Medical, pharmaceutical, robotics and mechatronics companies, hi-tech universities and companies are all committed to protecting public goods such as health and knowledge, in a civil culture where public institutions, private companies and social enterprises from the voluntary sector and, more generally, the third sector work together.

Doing and telling. What’s needed is a new way of telling company stories, which must be relaunched, above all by enhancing the value of our museums and archives, which are all rich in stories that can inspire the younger generations. We have experienced this during these months of lockdown. It is thanks to digital technologies and languages that it has been possible to continue to bring corporate heritage to life, and to use digital representation to replace the things it has been impossible to do in person. Such a cultural turning point, in terms of format and content, should not be lost but should represent a new collaborative environment for cultural stakeholders and companies.

As Federculture suggests, the Recovery Plan could be an essential tool. It could leverage business culture, in the sense of discipline, the ability to “do and do well” and to address the challenges generated by the pandemic and recession. It’s a broad vision, much like the one shared by the entrepreneurs who made Italy great, starting with Adriano Olivetti, Enrico Mattei’s Eni, Pirelli and a long list of small and medium-sized companies. Fewer words and committees and more “producing”, “transforming” and “telling”.

Corporate culture is not just empty rhetoric. In practice, it is a key player in the moral and civil recovery of the country. The ideas of progress and development can draw new strength from it. The Angelus Novus can finally spread its wings more freely towards the future.

Francesco Barbagallo’s latest book is an effective synthesis of our country’s recent history: useful for everyone, companies included

Being aware of the events of the past in order to understand the present, and to be in a better position to face the future: something that is essential for all of us, not least for astute entrepreneurs and the managers who support them. This awareness can be gained through reading accurate, important texts on the matter, such as “L’Italia nel mondo contemporaneo. Sei lezioni di storia 1943-2018” (Italy in the modern world. Six lessons from history 1943-2018), a collection of essays by Francesco Barbagallo, Professor Emeritus of modern history at the Federico II University in Naples, and above all, sophisticated expert in the events of recent decades in Italy.

In his “six lessons”, spanning just under two hundred clearly written pages, the author effectively succeeds in synthesising the recent history of our country, focusing on the major events or stages, united by the consideration that, since the end of the Second World War, everything is absolutely incomprehensible if we lose sight of the international dimension of things.

Indeed, it is the continuous exchange between events within Italy and external influences that serves as the common thread that connects Barbagallo’s six essays to one another. From the post-war period to the Cold War, from the economic boom influenced by foreign powers to the crisis and reforms – each event or period is affected by influences from beyond Italy’s borders in one way or another. The events covered in the book include the tragic era of massacres and terrorism in Italy, and the subsequent process of globalisation, which however placed our country on the sidelines in a new phase of history. Barbagallo brings us up to the present day, with the unstoppable rise of the Asian powers and the culmination of the IT and financial revolution, as Italy comes face to face with a lengthy economic and social decline that appears to be throwing even our democratic practices into crisis.

The author recounts the civil and economic history of the country, with political passages interspersed with those of a more social, production-related bent, and those that speak of customs and culture.

Everything is recounted as opposed to recited, explained and not simply declared with arrogance and conceit; as such, Barbagallo’s “Six lessons from history 1943-2018” constitute an invaluable synthesis that enables the reader to gain a better understanding of the present, restoring a sense of perspective when it comes to the future. Francesco Barbagallo has written a fine and useful book, well worth reading from cover to cover and keeping on your desk.

L’Italia nel mondo contemporaneo. Sei lezioni di storia 1943-2018 (Italy in the modern world. Six lessons from history 1943-2018)

Francesco Barbagallo

Laterza, 2020

A thesis discussed at the University of Padua highlights the need to ensure an in-depth understanding of markets before setting out to conquer them: an essential aspect of good production culture

When, how and where to enter a market: these are key themes, at the top of the agenda for many companies. These themes can be approached in a variety of ways and – when properly understood – are fundamental to the culture of production which can make all the difference between companies.

The issue of the relationships between businesses and the market is not easy to unpick, yet this is at the heart of Andrea Paggetta’s thesis work, “L’uomo saggio impara dai suoi errori, quello più saggio dagli errori degli altri. Le strategie di Netflix, Stadia e Spotify nel mercato dei beni digitali” (A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man from the mistakes of others. The strategies of Netflix, Stadia and Spotify in the digital goods market), discussed at the University of Padua, “M. Fanno” Department of Economics and Business Sciences.

Paggetta writes: “The theory of the ‘first-mover advantage’ maintains that a company that succeeds in entering a market segment first, through the implementation of certain strategic behaviours, gains a competitive advantage. Many organisations have managed to achieve this type of advantage, but this does not mean that there are no negatives to this approach, or better and more effective strategies.” This is the statement that provides the basis from which Paggetta’s research begins. The author explains how a business may also “decide to enter a market in which one or more companies are already well established, by deciding to copy, either in whole or in part, the strategy of the leading organisation.” He also examines how a company may “intuit a new need in the market and decide to wait for another organisation to make the first move, because it may not have the funds to invest in the research and development processes required in order to create a product that meets consumer requirements.” And in other cases, Paggetta asserts that it is better “to simply wait and study the behaviour of the first mover organisation, to avoid making the same mistakes as it does.” There are various types of entrepreneurial behaviour behind the different approaches that companies take to the organisation of production organisation and to their market vision. Paggetta thus attempts to demonstrate that being the first company to enter a market is not always sufficient to gain a competitive advantage, just as it is not always beneficial to copy the model presented by the best company in a given sector. Alongside the theoretic argument, the author examines the cases of Netflix, Stadia and Spotify, in order to provide a better understanding of the topic.

The final conclusion is clear: as a business, it is essential to be unique for what you are. And accordingly, before making a strategic decision, it is crucial to seek to understand which variables can influence a company from the perspective of its structure and its organisation. With this in mind, fostering a sensible and shrewd culture of production is always the best way to conduct oneself effectively in any market.

L’uomo saggio impara dai suoi errori, quello più saggio dagli errori degli altri. Le strategie di Netflix, Stadia e Spotify nel mercato dei beni digitali (A wise man learns from his mistakes, a wiser man from the mistakes of others. The strategies of Netflix, Stadia and Spotify in the digital goods market)

Andrea Paggetta

Thesis, University of Padua, “M. Fanno” Department of Economics and Business Sciences, Master’s in Economics, 2020

The key word when attempting to build a more balanced future is always “sustainability“. Environmental sustainability, of course (we must leave not only a better currency, but above all a better world, to paraphrase the effective summary provided by Mario Draghi, successful banker and now, fortunately, Prime Minister of Italy). But also social sustainability, and gender sustainability too. The pandemic and the recession have aggravated an economic situation that had already been hard hit by the Financial Crisis of 2008, as well as the failure of Italy to achieve a “paradigm shift” in economic development (better governance of the process of globalisation, an economy that is less distorted, to the detriment of the less advantaged classes, a different quality of growth). And today, the figures reveal dramatic evidence of the increase in poverty, which impacts precarious workers, women, the younger generation and children above all, with the possibility of constructing a fair and equal future for the latter severely compromised (once again breaking the pact between generations and betraying the pledges of the Italian Constitution). “5 million precarious workers have disappeared”, Censis noted in its annual report last December, as it calculated the number of jobs obliterated by the pandemic, noting the worrying increase in social unrest, as well as in resentment and frustration among those individuals who now find themselves on the margins of society, victims of progressive impoverishment and the collapse of trust and hope.

This reality is something that must be taken into serious consideration by all politicians and social players, at a time when – with the funds of the Next Generation EU recovery plan and other public resources derived from the suspension of the Stability Pact and from the guarantees provided by the ECB on government bonds – Italy has plenty of resources at its disposal to invest in emergency measures, in long-term projects for the green economy and digital economy, and in the reforms that are necessary to finally modernise the country and consolidate and strengthen the training provided to young people, along with research and economic and social innovation. We must not forget that the vast majority of these funds will add to our debt, and as such must one day be returned; something that relies on the relaunch and reinvigoration of an economic and social machine that has been stuck in the same place for more than 20 years, in order to ensure robust economic growth.

The fight against poverty is rooted in balanced and sustainable growth. Work, then, with greater engagement – both quantitative and qualitative – of women. School and university, the necessary building blocks of well-qualified human capital. The promotion and enhancement of the environment, and of quality of life. Public goods, beginning with healthcare and education, with a significant overlap between public and private investment.

“Abolire la miseria” (Abolish poverty) was the title of an essay written in 1945 by Ernesto Rossi which had a widespread impact; one of the most active Italian intellectuals of the time, Rossi was a liberal with solid social values, one of the “great writers” of Mario Pannunzio’s “Il Mondo” (a weekly political, cultural and economic magazine), and author, alongside Artiero Spinelli and Eugenio Colorni, of the “Ventotene Manifesto”, a text which proved to be of great inspiration for the birth of United Europe. The tools that Rossi indicated in his essay in order to combat poverty were investment in schools, health care, social housing and a welfare system which provided support and social security, a collection of measures that could compensate for the social imbalances perpetuated by economic cycles. Indeed, this was the era of Italian history in which Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi stated in 1946 that “our primary duty is to fight with all our strength for solidarity and national reconstruction.” It was the era of the Marshall Plan, where aid was properly used, both to provide support and to invest in industry and labour, the era in which Confindustria president Angelo Costa and CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) secretary Giuseppe Di Vittorio drafted their agreement on Italy’s shared commitment, which is was famously summarised in the following statement: “First the factories, then the houses” – placing the priority firmly on work, in order to recover the resources required for all subsequent social investments.

On the basis of this strategically intelligent approach to development – and despite the various differences, divergences and bitter political and social conflicts that still existed – the Reconstruction was able to take shape, ushering in the economic boom, the strengthening of social and civil rights, and a long period of widespread prosperity.

Today, in a national and international context that has undergone radical change, we must start again, on the basis of a shared assumption of responsibility for the recovery. And with a clear idea in mind: the fight against poverty and social, gender and generational inequality does not need slogans in squares, on beaches, on balconies, or clamour on TV and digital screens, but rather decent, forward-looking policies. And a combination of emergency measures and investment decisions which take a long-term, ambitious approach to reformism. So far, the Draghi government is moving in this direction.

Let’s take a good look at the data, then: “One million Italians are falling into poverty. Alarm bells for the North”, writes “La Stampa” (5 March), whereas the “Corriere della Sera” went with “One million more poor despite the check on subsidies” as its headline. The ISTAT index of absolute poverty has risen to 9.4% (the threshold is based upon the minimum essential expenditure required for food, housing and protection from the cold), which signifies that 5.6 million Italians cannot even afford to eat an adequate diet (and indeed, the queues at Caritas and other public and private support centres that provide meals to those in need are ever longer). Of these, there are 1,346,000 minors, 209,000 more than the previous year.

Families falling into absolute poverty increased by 209,000 in the north, by 53,000 in the centre and by 186,000 in the south of the country. When we look at them like that, they are just numbers, in the merciless desert of statistics. But when we take the time to think about it, these numbers represent people in grave difficulty, men, women, children who are humiliated and hurt – suffering faces, lives wounded by neglect and decline. Many. Too many. People we meet on the street. They are calling out for a response, an intervention, and a view of the situation that extends far beyond charity and solidarity, and the short-term momentary support that welfare provides.

Between 7 and 9 million people are living “in relative poverty”, struggling to get to the end of the month.

“Welfare does not reach all those who are really suffering, and our cities have collapsed,” commented sociologist Aldo Bonomi, adding that “you can’t eat rhetoric”; as such, we desperately need new measures, and fast, with reforms to the mechanisms of the welfare system and social safety nets: “Unemployment benefits can no longer be given only to labourers: we must also consider the precarious workers, the domestic cleaners, the self-employed and the independent professionals, the creative people who make a living from the urban networks that have now disintegrated. And there is an urgent need for a locally-based remedy and welfare system in order to rebuild communities, with public figures who can read the signals, interpret and meet needs and intervene where necessary.”

Italy’s “citizens’ income”, with all its distortions, and the emergency income support, have helped to mitigate the harshest consequences of falling wages and job losses, particularly in the South. But the challenge now is to create jobs and fill the vacancies in companies that have relaunched their activities but cannot find trained staff to hire. We must reform the job centres and Anpal (Agenzia Nazionale Politiche Attive Lavoro, or National Agency for Active Employment Policies). The percentage of women in employment must be radically increased. We must ensure that training – not only at school level, but throughout the working life of each person – is linked to the changing economic and social scenario. We must consider the environment as a resource to be enhanced and promoted.

Here’s another key point in the fight against poverty: the role played by women. Under the headline “The lost work of women”, an article published on 8 March in “La Repubblica” documented how the crisis accelerated by the pandemic has led to the loss of more than 300,000 jobs occupied by women, compared to 100,000 by men. Indeed, it was the service sector above all – with its predominantly female workforce – that was affected. The female employment rate has dropped to 48.6% (the figure for men is 67.5%) and the inactivity rate (between 15 and 64 years of age) has risen to 45.9%, compared with 26.3% for men. That’s a great deal of inactive human capital. According to Eurostat’s calculations, this equates to a loss in GDP of around 88 billion euros. As well as a worsening of personal, familial and social inequality.

As such, it is absolutely essential that the economy is kick-started, and that reforms are accelerated. The labour market, social safety nets, schools and services. Beyond the emergency assistance, the fight against poverty coincides to a large degree with a new and improved cycle of development.

The exhibition entitled Industrial Italy, 1920–1960, which has recently ended in Saint Petersburg, was organised by the Italian Cultural Institute of the city and by the Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation (ICCD) of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. Curated by Francesca Fabiani, the exhibition retraced the history of Italian industrial development from the 1920s to 1960 as seen in the photographs by Girolamo Bombelli. As the curator explains, “The photographs in the Bombelli Collection paint a picture of an industrious Italy, grappling with the initial forms of large-scale entrepreneurship, which witnessed the emergence of some brands that later became the stuff of legend: Martini & Rossi, Pirelli, Bassetti, and many others.” In actual fact, by the early 1920s Pirelli was already a well-established multinational corporation, and in 1922 it celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Indeed, much of Bombelli’s work for Pirelli involved these 50th-anniversary celebrations. An initial study of his industrial photography by Valeria Bianconi – which culminated in a degree thesis entitled “A concrete example of industrial photography in Italy: Pirelli and its Bicocca facilities in the Bombelli-Cattaneo Collection of the ICCD” – made it possible to attribute to Bombelli a series of photographs now in our Historical Archive. This collection of photographs, which was formed in 1922, comprises two loose-leaf albums devoted to the factories and production, and two albums with photos of Pirelli’s rubber tree plantations in Indonesia. With their 18 x 24 cm photographic prints mounted on card, the two albums, which are entitled “The factories of the Pirelli company in 1922”, contain views of the exteriors and departments of the two Pirelli factories in Milan (in Via Ponte Seveso and Bicocca) for the production of miscellaneous items, tyres, and cables. The last section is devoted to services (the shipping warehouse, fire brigade, infirmary, and so on). The photographs have a caption on the card concerning the subject, and some of these pictures have also been found in the archive of the photographer Spartaco Zampi of Udine, who worked in Milan between 1916 and 1918.

Unfortunately, little is known about Girolamo Bombelli’s relationship with Pirelli. Born in Milan in 1882, his work was closely tied to that of the Alfieri & Lacroix graphics company, which was founded by Emilio Alfieri and Edoardo Lacroix in 1890, and which went on to become one of the greatest printing companies in post-war Italy. During this period, Bombelli presumably opened his studio at the headquarters of the publishing and printing company – as confirmed by the stamp on the back of some photographs now in our Historical Archive, which indicates the address as Via Mantegna 6 in Milan – providing photographs for publications.

From the 1910s, the Alfieri & Lacroix company printed many publications for Pirelli & C. (catalogues, price lists, postcards and company brochures), and in 1922 it also printed the Jubilee volume entitled “Pirelli & C. on its fiftieth anniversary”, which was one of the projects to mark the event, and which included some photographs by Bombelli. The photographer continued working with Pirelli in the 1920s and 1930s, shooting photographic reports on the interiors and exteriors of factories, subsidiaries, and stores. These photographs convey memories of the company, of its products, and of modern industrial work, symbolically representing the very essence of progress.

An article by I. Iannuzzi (Sapienza University) presents a careful discussion of one of the concepts that can help us to gain a better understanding of what makes businesses work.

“Spirito del capitalismo” (The spirit of capitalism). And as such, the nature of business and entrepreneurial actions. Right down to the ethics of business itself, and the real meaning of profit. These concepts are not new to anyone who has studied the history and the heart of what is perhaps the most widespread economic system. However, they are concepts that are often confused, almost to the point where they lose their essential and original traits. And indeed, it is precisely in the interests of reacquainting ourselves with these origins that we should read “Spirito del capitalismo. Un concetto ancora attuale? Spunti di riflessione a partire dall’analisi di Werner Sombart” (The spirit of capitalism. A concept still relevant today? Starting points for reflection on Werner Sombart’s analysis) is an article by Ilaria Iannuzzi (of the Department of Political Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome), which was published a few weeks ago on imagojournal.it.

As the author herself explains, the aim of this research is to share a number of reflections that “revolve around the concept of the ‘spirit of capitalism’, of the benefits of this, and of its relevance in today’s social landscape.” All of this is based upon the work of German sociologist Werner Sombart, who was one of the first to develop the concept of the “spirit of capitalism”.

Accordingly, the author begins by discussing Sombart’s work (highlighting, among other things, the way in which the concept of this spirit is close to that of the culture of capitalism). She then moves on to an assessment of the current “spirit of capitalism”, which she compares with that of the past, focusing on certain aspects in particular (such as that of profit).

“The spiritual dimension, albeit in a different way, appears to continue to play a considerable role in the existence and development of the capitalist economic sphere,” writes Ilaria Iannuzzi in her conclusion, before going on to add: “It remains to be determined, however, to what degree and according to which terms this signifies a real recovery of the spiritual element, or whether, on the contrary, it implies a largely instrumental use of this.”

Iannuzzi’s article tackles a tricky issue, but in a language that is clear and comprehensible, despite the conceptual challenges it must overcome. It’s definitely worth a read.

Lo spirito del capitalismo. Un concetto ancora attuale? Spunti di riflessione a partire dall’analisi di Werner Sombart (The spirit of capitalism. A concept still relevant today? Starting points for reflection on Werner Sombart’s analysis)

Number 16 – Year IX / December 2020

www.imagojournal.it

A newly-published book sheds light on the complex topic of ESG factors

Businesses that are both “sustainable” and “efficient”. A combination that is far from impossible – indeed, one that is increasingly achievable,provided that both the management and organisation side of things are structured and conducted with care. These are the issues upon which the new book by Rita Rolli (professor of private law in the Department of Legal Sciences at the University of Bologna, and practising lawyer), is focused, entitled “L’impatto dei fattori ESG sull’impresa. Modelli di governance e nuove responsabilità” (The impact of ESG on business. Models of governance and new responsibilities)

The perspective of the book is to understand the tensions around sustainability in companies – which are today focused around the now-famous acronym ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) – from a concrete viewpoint. Not an easy task, then, that the author has set herself – above all because this acronym incorporates a range of interdisciplinary concepts and operational tools that must be fully mastered, and which guide the choices and strategies chosen not only by large joint-stock companies, but also by those in the financial sector and, to a certain degree, by smaller businesses too. All of this must then be set within a context that is not simply managerial and organisational, but also legal, in line with European and national rules, involving various legislative aspects, before getting to the major issues of environmental safeguarding and a focus on the social consequences of the way in which businesses act.

Rolli uses the impact that ESG factors have on governance

and corporate responsibility as a starting point, before moving on to examine first the legal and then the organisational aspects of these; she then moves on to the somewhat delicate issue of the responsibilities of company directors.

The issues in the book are discussed in a language that is not always easy to read, due to the difficulty and complexity of the subject itself.

Two core aspects emerge from Rita Rolli’s work: on the one hand, the new legal questions that appear to shed fresh light on traditional institutions, suggesting a common vision which aims to blur the line between specific and general interests, and on the other, a very particular (and insufficiently-known) aspect, namely good business culture that increasingly appears to be expanding throughout a significant portion of the Italian industrial fabric.

L’impatto dei fattori ESG sull’impresa. Modelli di governance e nuove responsabilità (The impact of ESG on business. Models of governance and new responsibilities)

Rita Rolli

Il Mulino, 2021

There’s the “Milan in 15 minutes” – the rediscovery of the city’s neighbourhoods, the joy of the relationships between local inhabitants which play out in the small supermarkets and shops that have been reassessed and modernised, the conversations in little bookshops and the meetings in community spaces, around the squares that have come back to life: the Ambrosian version – so dear to Mayor Beppe Sala – of the fascinating idea launched for Paris by the city’s imaginative Mayor, Anne Hidalgo. But it is also essential that the “Milan in an hour” is relaunched, with the to-ing and fro-ing that characterise a metropolis of flows and relationships, an hour by high-speed train from Turin, Bologna, Verona and, hopefully soon, Genoa, and an hour or so by plane from Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, London and Barcelona. And – why not – a maximum of an hour’s commute by car to the smaller towns, provincial villages and hamlets where young couples with children and young professionals will live in the era following Covid-19, drawn to these places by the possibilities and freedom offered by smart working, with half their time spent in the dynamic, creative metropolis and the other half nestled amongst the greenery and the ancient squares of a province known for its rich beauty and culture.

Whilst we are still struggling under the burden of a high number of cases of the virus, accompanied by the constant fear of worsening disease and death, beset by vaccine shortages and a grave economic and social crisis that has hit whole swathes of the population with astounding ferocity – many of whom were already in a fragile and precarious position – Milan has once again begun to ask itself questions about the design of the geo-economic and conceptual maps that will define its immediate future. This time without the arrogance of primacy (which negatively affected the city post-Expo, as it wallowed in the (well-founded) complacency of being the place to be, according to the “The New York Times”). If anything, there is a growing awareness in the city of the need to focus on new and better living and working conditions, and to relaunch the values of environmental and social sustainability. And in so doing, rediscovering and modernising the historical heart of a place that is lively yet civilised, competitive yet inclusive, enterprising yet supportive: Milan is multi-faceted and sensitive; it is neither uncontrolled nor rapacious.

But where do we start? “With culture,” state 87.9% of those interviewed, “between fear and hope,” in a survey by the Centro Studi Grande Milano, overseen by Daniela Mainini (“Corriere della Sera”, 26 February). Such a widespread, deep-rooted opinion neatly captures one aspect of the identity of this great metropolis. The pandemic and the lengthy lockdown have put a stop to the activities of theatres, museums, cinemas, music venues, clubs and cultural centres. And yet, in spite of the closures – and the grave economic consequences of these – La Scala and the Verdi Symphony Orchestra, the Piccolo Teatro and the Teatro Parenti, the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, and all the other places where culture is created, including company museums and historical company archives, have succeeded in keeping up at least some of their activities, producing and presenting “digital” content, experimenting with new languages, and keeping the dialogue with the public alive, despite everything. These are living (albeit wounded) entities, and they are ready to start again. And the fate of Milanese culture – an open, “polytechnic” culture – has always been linked to that of companies, both in terms of the solid support they provide in the form of patronage and in their (even more pertinent) role as direct cultural players, if culture also encompasses science, technology, innovation, relationships and research. And narration.

Here, then, is another driver: science, which in the case of Milan, is linked to health-related processes; indeed, the city has become a hub of life sciences of international standing, taking root in universities and research centres, with the MIND (Milan Innovation District) first and foremost focused upon the Human Technopole, in the location where Expo was held – a site at which researchers and technicians from all over the world have been working for some time. A powerful synergy between science, education and business, with highly advanced forays into the new horizons of Artificial Intelligence.

The third driver is training and education. Milan remains a major university city, with 200,000 students (10% of whom are international) spread across a dozen universities that have soared to the highest places in the world’s best university rankings over time. The pandemic has put a stop to the movement of students and lecturers. Teaching has been conducted remotely. The dynamism of knowledge has slowed down. But this heritage of knowledge and skills remains strong, prestigious and ready to do its utmost, and the relationships between universities and businesses, even in these most challenging of times, has not been compromised.

The fourth driver, then, is companies themselves, beginning with those dedicated to manufacturing. Indeed, even in an extremely hard 2020 beset by stoppages, recession and crisis, this sector has not lost its standing in the leading international supply chains (as confirmed by the 3% increase in exports last year, a national average that is particularly high in the Lombardy region). Businesses in the tertiary and tourism sectors and the trade fair system have suffered particularly badly, along with companies dedicated to personal services and commercial and creative activities. And Milan’s GDP has felt the effects of this (-11%, more than the -8.9% national average). But the data presented by Assolombarda suggest that we are in for a 5.3% rebound in 2021, and 2023 is pinpointed as being the year of recovery, beyond the pre-pandemic values of 2019, and we may catch a cautious glimpse of a solid increase in production and employment in 2025.

In Milan, there is a general awareness of the weight of the crisis, of the deep rift that has affected a significant proportion of the social classes who have already been disadvantaged and marginalised by years of unequal, unbalanced economic growth (the numbers of poor people and families in difficulty have increased). But thanks to the support and subsidiarity of the so-called “third sector”, some of the difficulties relating to living, income and assistance have been alleviated.

But there is also a strong desire for recovery. Last week, Assolombarda and Milano&Partners (an organisation established by the City of Milan, with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and a number of public and private companies) brought together scholars, entrepreneurs and social players at a conference, where the critical areas of the crisis and the opportunities for recovery were highlighted and examined. One positive note, among many: the major international real estate investments that had been planned and launched in the period leading up to the pandemic have all been reconfirmed as going ahead: a clear sign of the widespread confidence of investors in the recovery.

The Recovery Plan that the Draghi government is finally developing – after too much time wasted on discussions and vague promises by the previous government – is in tune with Milan’s approach: environment and innovation, social sustainability and ambitious plans for employment for the new generations, the digital economy and extensive training, and reforms focused on productivity and competitiveness. Not to mention new and improved social safety cushions and welfare choices to tackle the ecological and digital (green and blue) transition, which we talked about it in last week’s blog, in order to drive Italy towards a more balanced, circular and civil economy, which is valued at European level.

Sustainability, as an asset that increases competitiveness and improves quality of life, represents the perfect opportunity for Milan – not an unbalanced megalopolis, but rather a metropolis with close links to its surrounding regions, open and communicative, simultaneously European and Mediterranean. Aldo Bonomi, an astute scholar of urban and productive metamorphosis, puts it well (“Il Sole24Ore”, 26 January): “Milan’s destiny is not to compete in order to scale the rankings of global cities; rather, the city is bound to become a network of territorial systems that enable it to compete, with the support of its districts, medium-sized enterprises and platforms: Milan must ask itself whether it wishes to be the capital of the Po Valley megalopolis, or a city that enjoys horizontal relationships with cities of intermediate size, according to a service-based logic, with the ability to exercise a broad role, acting as a mediator between Europe and the Mediterranean.” And it is precisely in this process of reconstruction that the value of the proximity of the squares and neighbourhoods of the city and its powerful international calling lies, enabling original syntheses to be created. In order to grow better.

A thesis discussed at the M. Fanno Department of Economics and Business Sciences at the University of Padua attempts to bring a sense of order to the theme of the sharing economy

Collaborating and sharing. These actions are important to us all, businesses included, particularly in such a complex period. It is an issue that is also relevant to the culture of production, which must often change along with the rules that we are all governed by. These are the concepts upon which the research carried out by Gabriele Principe are centred, in his thesis discussed at the M. Fanno Department of Economics and Business Sciences at the University of Padua.

More specifically, “Economia collaborativa al tempo del Coronavirus” (The sharing economy in the era of Coronavirus) is focused on “investigating the concept of the sharing economy within the framework of European legislation, in order to take a closer look at the issue of online contracts”; in addition to this, Principe also examines how “variation in the demand for particular goods and services is the result of a change in consumption habits and living conditions during the year of the pandemic.”

Accordingly, Principe begins by addressing the concept of the sharing economy in its various forms, as well as tasking himself with providing an analysis of the current set of rules that we use as a point of reference; he then goes on to consider a number of case studies, which put the theory of the sharing economy into practice in a number of different ways; the examples of Uber, Lif, Airbnb and Globe-inc appear in the pages of Gabriele Principe’s thesis.

The author writes in his conclusion: “Due to the exogenous shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharing economy has been revealed to be extremely variable. Some sectors have enjoyed a significant increase in turnover, while others have suffered a slump in sales. It has not been possible to achieve the exponential growth expected in the past. At the same time, until a few decades ago, these economic platforms simply did not exist, but now, these are destined to advance and progress, growing and redefining themselves in line with the evolution of the global situation, which is now very uncertain. The pandemic has demonstrated that consumer perceptions of the sharing economy differ from those that they hold of the traditional economy, which explains why some sectors have been more affected than others. The confusing legislation which governs them certainly plays a role in this.”

Principe’s study presents a varied picture of a complex subject that is evolving constantly – certainly not one that can be easily predicted, and certainly not one devoid of problems that are yet to be resolved. The sharing economy in the era of Coronavirus thus serves as a useful tool for gaining a better understanding of what is happening around us.

Economia collaborativa al tempo del Coronavirus (The sharing economy in the era of Coronavirus)

Gabriele Principe

Thesis, University of Padua, M. Fanno Department of Economics and Business Sciences, Master’s in Economics and Management, 2020