In May 2018, Giuseppe Conte became prime minister after an electoral campaign in which Italians were being told that a honey and milk Age was about to begin. It was clear to everybody that an unknown professor of Law, with no political legitimacy (he had not figured prominently in the electoral campaign and was not among the candidates for parliament), could easily top the list of the weakest Prime Ministers in the Italian post-war political history. Indeed, the real power was in the hands of the two ubiquitous vice prime ministers, Matteo Salvini (League) and Luigi Di Maio (5- Star Movement, 5SM). In fact, Di Maio and Salvini were so influential that many commentators considered the Conte cabinet as an original experiment in vice-presidentialism, a system of government you can hardly find in any political science or constitutional law textbook.
Public spending
The European Fiscal Board (EFB) – an agency established in 2015 by the European Commission to evaluate the implementation of EU fiscal rules and to advise the Commission on fiscal policies…
The Heathrow Expansion On the night of the 25th of June, the UK Parliament voted in favour (415 to 119) of the £14bn expansion of Heathrow airport in London. This…
Aging Populations and the Size of Government
WP 2018-04. Executive Summary.
After some months of amazing promises made by politicians pledging whatever might have warranted to them a parliamentary seat, the judgement day has finally come, as Italy’s general elections were…
The miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes in the Italian electoral campaign
Italian general elections will be held on March the 4th, and these weeks will be remembered as a time when promises abound and all Italians are assured that from March…
The collapse in January of Carillion PLC, the UK’s second largest construction and outsourcing company has attracted considerable media coverage. Carillion was principally engaged in public sector contracts to build…
The US economy has for years suffered because of its corporate tax rate, which has sat consistently among the world’s highest at 35%. In attempts to escape this punitive rate,…
An Impossibility Result on Nudging Grounded in the Theory of Intentional Action
WP 2018-01. Executive summary.
Every winter, the media comment on the challenges that the NHS faces during the cold season. We have reported on this in the past, and 2018 is no different. The…
