The annual appointment with the Festival of Economics has begun in Trento. In the coming days, big stars of the national and international economy will involve the general public in an effort to make science known to most as "sad" attractive. During the inaugural speech, held at the Castello del Buonconsiglio, the scientific director of the Festival, Tito Boeri, explained how tracing the boundaries of economic freedom means "designing the space within which the public and private sectors must move". The theme is largely topical if one thinks of Greece, which is reviewing the privatization plan to alleviate the public debt; to the new mayors elected in various Italian municipalities who have to decide how to manage their expenses and which are the priority sectors; to the role of the European Central Bank, which will begin a new phase with the arrival of Mario Draghi at the top; to the debate on the privatization of water management.
But economic freedom, recalls Boeri quoting Amartya Sen, must be effective and there must be conditions that make it so: legality, the presence of social norms, the possibility of being able to choose when one wants. According to the president of the University of Trento, Innocenzo Cipolletta, "it is necessary to integrate economic analysis with other disciplines". Education and research institutions play a key role in this field and must promote multidisciplinarity. For this reason, economists will be confronted with other points of view and other subjects: from politics to sociology, from ecology to natural sciences. Corrado Passera, CEO of Intesa SanPaolo, historical sponsor of the festival, said that terms such as "limits", "barriers", "delimitations" are often used in an equivocal way. In this case it is right to speak of a "border" because it indicates an open demarcation line, it recognizes that there is an alternative reality on the other side and that it must be respected. During the Festival, therefore, the relationships between the public and private sectors, between profit and non-profit (which is a sector of significant dimensions for our country), between companies and universities, between consumers and producers will be discussed.
Boundaries in practice are the laws governing these dichotomies. Norms must not be limits, they must facilitate collaboration and dialogue. “By now we know that the economy needs rules – added Passera – we can no longer hide behind the idea that by doing what we want we can achieve the good of all.” However we are going through a phase of production of endless rules which must be carefully analyzed and which could have the opposite effect to the desired one. In short, this year scholars from different countries, orientations and schools of thought will seek dialogue to evaluate the right amount of laws capable of leading to economically, financially and socially sustainable growth. (cc)
