L'industria italiana oggi: caratteristiche salienti e cambiamenti strutturali

The Italian productive system, after a long and abnormal crisis lasting about six years, was able to register a growth in 2006 in step with the main international partners.
By observing the years characterized by a path of “zero growth” , we clearly note as the economic cycle of our country has been marked by an irregular course, both in intensity as in duration. Periods of strong reduction of economic activity and temporary productivity boost (commonly known as “false starts”) have alternated during this extended period of stagnation; such strong fluctuations have contributed to bring our country into a period of extended stagnation of the economic activity, which reached a trough in February 2005.
Following to this date, and particularly in 2006, Italy seems to have achieved a remarkable growth increase, spurred by the strengthening of the world cycle and by the strong restructuring process carried out by Italian enterprises since the beginning of the new decade.
The sectors which best reacted to the restructuring are those of the manufacturing industry: they were in fact able to renovate their own productive system, allowing them to face the challenge posed by the new developing economies.
The response of enterprises to the substantial change within the international market, presented by the arrival of new emerging economies (such as China and India) and the resulting increase in the level of globalization, was therefore fundamental for the future of the Italian economy. These new competitors, counting on significant non-specialized and low-cost human resources, have flooded the international markets with their goods, causing a displacement of Italian products. Without a strong restructuring of enterprises, Italian companies would have risked definitive exclusion from the market on account of the poor competitivity of their products.
This project takes place into a more comprehensive restructuring process which has affected the whole industrial system and which, as underlined by the intervention of Dott. De Nardis and Dott. Bugamelli, is still under way.
What is certain is that the project should lead towards a reduction of industry weight in total value added and towards the re-allocation of resources in the service sector. The service sector represents indeed the main growth engine in modern advanced economies. Unfortunately though, in this area, the restructuring programme was not able to reach the expected results: the tertiary sector is still characterized by a scarce dynamism, thus still not guaranteeing better growth prospects for the country.