Italy in ten selfies: good culture of enterprise to improve competition and development
Italy is slowly climbing out of the crisis, but to make true progress – to trigger a process of profound economic and social renovation and more balanced, long-lasting growth – the country needs to “change its point of view”. This is the challenge for business, for politics, and for the public at large as proposed by Symbola, the foundation led by Ermete Realacci, and summarised in an original, stimulating document, “L’Italia in dieci selfie” (Italy in ten selfies), which offers an unconventional, profoundly truthful look at the strengths of Italian competitiveness.
And what does this document say? “Only 5 of the world’s nations can boast a manufacturing trade surplus of greater than USD 100 billion, and Italy is one of them. There is one European country that attracts more Chinese, American, Canadian, Australian and Brazilian tourists than any other thanks to its wealth of beauty, culture and quality: Italy. There is one nation that leads the way in the environmental efficiency, with lower CO2 and greater recovery of raw materials, of its businesses: Italy. And there is one nation that boasts 935 products out of the 5,117 analysed for global trade that are leaders in terms of foreign trade surplus. That nation is Italy”. It is a “selfie” of talent and a critical response to the many mistaken clichés that “risk distracting us from the country’s real problems”.
There are age-old evils to be overcome, as Realacci says, “Public debt, inequality in the distribution of wealth, the lack of jobs, the burden of organised crime and corruption that has never been suitably combatted, bureaucracy that is often suffocating, the south losing contact. We can’t make it without an idea of the future, if we don’t start with our strengths, if we don’t mobilise our best talents and energies. And to do so, we need to look at business, at the communities, and at the Italian territory as a whole with care and fondness, through eyes different from those of the ratings agencies, without being held prisoner by laziness and my preconceptions that at times come from the outside. And we must tell a story of Italy that is different from those who insist on telling the tale of doom and decline.” Because, as Paul Auster writes, “Stories happen only to those who are able to tell them.”
Hence Symbola’s 10 selfies as a starting point for challenging the crisis (backed by data and research by Symbola as well as by Unioncamere and the Edison Foundation). The first of these shows that “Italy is one of only five nations in the world to boast a manufacturing surplus of greater than USD 100 billion”, along with industrial superpowers like China, Germany, Japan and South Korea, whereas France (-34 billion), Great Britain (-99 billion) and the USA (-610 billion) have actually posted trade deficits in manufacturing.
The second selfie tells us that “Italian businesses are among the world’s most competitive. In 2012, out of a total of 5,117 products (the maximum level of statistical disaggregation on world trade), Italy placed first, second or third worldwide for foreign trade surplus in 935 product categories.”
The third: “In terms of aggregate debt (i.e. government, households, businesses), Italy is one of nations with the lowest levels of debt in the world”. Although the crisis and austerity measures have not been without ramifications even on consumers, Italian debt is at 261% of GDP. In Japan, debt is at 412%; in Spain, 305%; in the UK, 284%; and in the US, 264%.
The fourth selfie shows that “Italian food and agriculture dominates on the world’s markets. Indeed, 23 of these products have no peers internationally, leading the world in market share, and there are 54 others that come in either second or third. Despite imitations and the unfair competition of Italian-sounding products, we are in the top three in global trade for fully 77 products.
The fifth selfie concerns the strength of our engineering and machinery industry: “Italy is the world’s second most competitive nation in the machinery industry” and “ranks among the best in the world in the industry.” Indeed, Italy’s machinery industry is second only to Germany in the ranking of competitiveness based on the Trade Performance Index calculated by the joint UNCTAD/WTO International Trade Centre.
Which brings us to the sixth: “The green economy, turbo for Italian business.” During the crisis, 22% of Italian businesses, or 33% of Italian manufacturing firms, turned to the green economy, an industry worth €101 billion in value added, or 10.2% of the nation’s economy. It has been a successful move, both in terms of exports – with 44% of manufacturing firms that invest in the green economy showing stability in exports as compared with 24% of those that don’t – and in terms of innovation – with 30% of manufacturing firms that focus on being green having developed new products or services, as compared with 15% for the rest – and with green jobs leading the way in innovation and accounting for fully 705 of new hires by businesses for the areas of research and development.
The seventh selfie shows that “Italy is a European leader in eco-efficiency in business”. Indeed, Italy’s production model is one of the most innovative environmentally, at 104 tons of carbon dioxide per million euros produced (vs. Germany at 143 tons and the UK at 130) and 41 tons of waste (vs. 65 for Germany and the UK and 93 for France). “We are European champions in the recycling industry. With 163 million tons of industrial waste being recovered throughout Europe, 24.1 million of this was in Italy alone, greater than any other European nation in absolute terms (ahead of Germany at just 22.4 million). Milan, where Expo 2015 is to be held, tops the rankings of European cities, along with Vienna, in selective waste collection at over a million inhabitants and is at the top of major cities worldwide in terms of people served for organic waste collection.
The eighth selfie states that 2Italy feeds on culture2. Italy’s cultural value chain – including the value produced in creative and cultural sectors, but also that portion of the nation’s economy that is “activated” by culture, such as tourism (and every euro produced in creative and cultural sectors generates 1.67 in the rest of the economy) – is worth 15.3% of the country’s value added at euro 214 billion.”
The ninth states that “In the Eurozone, Italy is the preferred destination for tourists from outside Europe”. Italy is the leading nation in terms of non-EU tourism with 56 million overnight stays booked, and the country is the preferred destination for tourists from places such as China, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the US, and Canada (source: Eurostat), all of whom are drawn to Italy for the nation’s wealth of beauty and culture. Not by chance, Italy is the country with the world’s greatest representation on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites (with 51 out of 1001).
The final selfie concerns “cohesion: a recipe for competition” and explains that “‘cohesive‘ businesses – i.e. those with the strongest ties to the community, to its workers, and to the territory and which invest in talent, sustainability, quality and beauty – are more competitive. In 2013, these businesses posted increases in revenues over 2012 in 39% of the cases, as compared to 31% for ‘non-cohesive’ ones. They also posted growth in employment in 22% of the cases, as compared to 15% for the rest. It is perhaps not by chance that, from 2007 to 2012, even without measures of public support, Italian businesses led the way – behind the US – in reshoring and now account for 60% or European relocalisations.”
“These 10 selfies embody the strengths of this nation and are a clear indication of the path to follow in order to return to growth”, concludes Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola. “Indeed, in order to weather the perfect storm of this crisis, Italy must accept the challenge of a world that is changing, but without losing its soul, and, as we are already doing in many fields even without policies and recognition, must unite innovation and knowledge with quality, beauty and the green economy. In short, Italy needs to do what Italy does best.”
Italy is slowly climbing out of the crisis, but to make true progress – to trigger a process of profound economic and social renovation and more balanced, long-lasting growth – the country needs to “change its point of view”. This is the challenge for business, for politics, and for the public at large as proposed by Symbola, the foundation led by Ermete Realacci, and summarised in an original, stimulating document, “L’Italia in dieci selfie” (Italy in ten selfies), which offers an unconventional, profoundly truthful look at the strengths of Italian competitiveness.
And what does this document say? “Only 5 of the world’s nations can boast a manufacturing trade surplus of greater than USD 100 billion, and Italy is one of them. There is one European country that attracts more Chinese, American, Canadian, Australian and Brazilian tourists than any other thanks to its wealth of beauty, culture and quality: Italy. There is one nation that leads the way in the environmental efficiency, with lower CO2 and greater recovery of raw materials, of its businesses: Italy. And there is one nation that boasts 935 products out of the 5,117 analysed for global trade that are leaders in terms of foreign trade surplus. That nation is Italy”. It is a “selfie” of talent and a critical response to the many mistaken clichés that “risk distracting us from the country’s real problems”.
There are age-old evils to be overcome, as Realacci says, “Public debt, inequality in the distribution of wealth, the lack of jobs, the burden of organised crime and corruption that has never been suitably combatted, bureaucracy that is often suffocating, the south losing contact. We can’t make it without an idea of the future, if we don’t start with our strengths, if we don’t mobilise our best talents and energies. And to do so, we need to look at business, at the communities, and at the Italian territory as a whole with care and fondness, through eyes different from those of the ratings agencies, without being held prisoner by laziness and my preconceptions that at times come from the outside. And we must tell a story of Italy that is different from those who insist on telling the tale of doom and decline.” Because, as Paul Auster writes, “Stories happen only to those who are able to tell them.”
Hence Symbola’s 10 selfies as a starting point for challenging the crisis (backed by data and research by Symbola as well as by Unioncamere and the Edison Foundation). The first of these shows that “Italy is one of only five nations in the world to boast a manufacturing surplus of greater than USD 100 billion”, along with industrial superpowers like China, Germany, Japan and South Korea, whereas France (-34 billion), Great Britain (-99 billion) and the USA (-610 billion) have actually posted trade deficits in manufacturing.
The second selfie tells us that “Italian businesses are among the world’s most competitive. In 2012, out of a total of 5,117 products (the maximum level of statistical disaggregation on world trade), Italy placed first, second or third worldwide for foreign trade surplus in 935 product categories.”
The third: “In terms of aggregate debt (i.e. government, households, businesses), Italy is one of nations with the lowest levels of debt in the world”. Although the crisis and austerity measures have not been without ramifications even on consumers, Italian debt is at 261% of GDP. In Japan, debt is at 412%; in Spain, 305%; in the UK, 284%; and in the US, 264%.
The fourth selfie shows that “Italian food and agriculture dominates on the world’s markets. Indeed, 23 of these products have no peers internationally, leading the world in market share, and there are 54 others that come in either second or third. Despite imitations and the unfair competition of Italian-sounding products, we are in the top three in global trade for fully 77 products.
The fifth selfie concerns the strength of our engineering and machinery industry: “Italy is the world’s second most competitive nation in the machinery industry” and “ranks among the best in the world in the industry.” Indeed, Italy’s machinery industry is second only to Germany in the ranking of competitiveness based on the Trade Performance Index calculated by the joint UNCTAD/WTO International Trade Centre.
Which brings us to the sixth: “The green economy, turbo for Italian business.” During the crisis, 22% of Italian businesses, or 33% of Italian manufacturing firms, turned to the green economy, an industry worth €101 billion in value added, or 10.2% of the nation’s economy. It has been a successful move, both in terms of exports – with 44% of manufacturing firms that invest in the green economy showing stability in exports as compared with 24% of those that don’t – and in terms of innovation – with 30% of manufacturing firms that focus on being green having developed new products or services, as compared with 15% for the rest – and with green jobs leading the way in innovation and accounting for fully 705 of new hires by businesses for the areas of research and development.
The seventh selfie shows that “Italy is a European leader in eco-efficiency in business”. Indeed, Italy’s production model is one of the most innovative environmentally, at 104 tons of carbon dioxide per million euros produced (vs. Germany at 143 tons and the UK at 130) and 41 tons of waste (vs. 65 for Germany and the UK and 93 for France). “We are European champions in the recycling industry. With 163 million tons of industrial waste being recovered throughout Europe, 24.1 million of this was in Italy alone, greater than any other European nation in absolute terms (ahead of Germany at just 22.4 million). Milan, where Expo 2015 is to be held, tops the rankings of European cities, along with Vienna, in selective waste collection at over a million inhabitants and is at the top of major cities worldwide in terms of people served for organic waste collection.
The eighth selfie states that 2Italy feeds on culture2. Italy’s cultural value chain – including the value produced in creative and cultural sectors, but also that portion of the nation’s economy that is “activated” by culture, such as tourism (and every euro produced in creative and cultural sectors generates 1.67 in the rest of the economy) – is worth 15.3% of the country’s value added at euro 214 billion.”
The ninth states that “In the Eurozone, Italy is the preferred destination for tourists from outside Europe”. Italy is the leading nation in terms of non-EU tourism with 56 million overnight stays booked, and the country is the preferred destination for tourists from places such as China, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the US, and Canada (source: Eurostat), all of whom are drawn to Italy for the nation’s wealth of beauty and culture. Not by chance, Italy is the country with the world’s greatest representation on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites (with 51 out of 1001).
The final selfie concerns “cohesion: a recipe for competition” and explains that “‘cohesive‘ businesses – i.e. those with the strongest ties to the community, to its workers, and to the territory and which invest in talent, sustainability, quality and beauty – are more competitive. In 2013, these businesses posted increases in revenues over 2012 in 39% of the cases, as compared to 31% for ‘non-cohesive’ ones. They also posted growth in employment in 22% of the cases, as compared to 15% for the rest. It is perhaps not by chance that, from 2007 to 2012, even without measures of public support, Italian businesses led the way – behind the US – in reshoring and now account for 60% or European relocalisations.”
“These 10 selfies embody the strengths of this nation and are a clear indication of the path to follow in order to return to growth”, concludes Ermete Realacci, president of Symbola. “Indeed, in order to weather the perfect storm of this crisis, Italy must accept the challenge of a world that is changing, but without losing its soul, and, as we are already doing in many fields even without policies and recognition, must unite innovation and knowledge with quality, beauty and the green economy. In short, Italy needs to do what Italy does best.”