Question

Summary of Italy Economy

MUST BE ORIGINAL and NO PLAGIARISM

Answer 1

General Information - Italy’s economic freedom score is 62.2, making its economy the 80th freest in the 2019 Index. Italy is ranked 36th among 44 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is below the regional average but above the world average.

Rule of Law - Property rights and contracts are secure, but court procedures are notoriously slow. The legal system is cumbersome and vulnerable to political interference. Corruption and organized crime are significant impediments to investment and economic growth, costing an estimated €60 billion annually in wasted public resources.

Government size - The top personal income tax rate is 43 percent, and the top corporate rate is 27.5 percent. Other taxes include value-added and inheritance taxes. The overall tax burden equals 42.9 percent of total domestic income. Over the past three years, government spending has amounted to 49.5 percent of the country’s output (GDP), and budget deficits have averaged 2.3 percent of GDP. Public debt is equivalent to 131.5 percent of GDP.

Regulatory Efficiency - Organizing new investment and production remains a cumbersome and bureaucratic process. The government has the legal right to regulate prices but allows most to be set by the market except for electricity, transportation, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, water, and gas networks.

Open Markets - The combined value of exports and imports is equal to 59.5 percent of GDP. The average applied tariff rate is 2.0 percent. Italy implements a number of EU-directed non tariff trade barriers including technical and product-specific regulations, subsidies, and quotas. There is no general screening of foreign investment, and most sectors of the economy are open. Bank recapitalization has been underway, but nonperforming loans remain problematic.

The economy of Italy is the 3rd-largest national economy in the eurozone, the 8th-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and the 12th-largest by GDP (PPP). Italy has a major advanced economy, and is a founding member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the G7 and the G20. Italy is the eighth largest exporter in the world with $514 billion exported in 2016. Its closest trade ties are with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 59% of its total trade. The largest trading partners, in order of market share, are Germany, France and the United States.

Italy is a large manufacturer (overall the second in EU behind Germany) and exporter of a significant variety of products including machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food, clothing, and robots. Italy has therefore a significant trade surplus. The country is also well known for its influential and innovative business economic sector, an industrious and competitive agricultural sector