Newsletter: Italy's economic prospects under Mario Draghi?s leadership
Monday, 9 march 2021
Good morning Future is blue readers,
This week we are covering Italy’s economic prospects under the new leadership of Mario Draghi. We’ve recorded a podcast discussion with Orsola Costantini, Economic affairs officer at UNCTAD, hosted by Carlos Carnicero Urabayen, Future is blue editorial coordinator.
We're also featuring an interesting article by Funcas analyst Miguel Carrión where he analyses in detail the economic impact of non-tariff barriers to trade on the EU - UK relationship after Brexit.
Further below, you will learn about some interesting facts and figures about the economic impact of foreign students living in Spain, extracted from a report commissioned by Eduespaña.
See at the end, as usual, some of the articles that we are reading these days.
Italy’s economic prospects under Mario Draghi’s leadership
Italy, the EU's third-largest economy, after Germany and France, is now experiencing its worst downturn since the Second World War. It's one of the countries in the EU more affected by COVID-19, perhaps the most, because of its dependency on tourism and the hospitality sector, among other factors. So what are Italy's economic prospects for 2021 now that Draghi is in charge?
Don’t miss our podcast discussion where we analyse what we know so far about Draghi's priorities, how Italy is planning to spend the EU recovery funds and the prospects of economic divergence in Europe after the pandemic.
Canada and bust: Brexit and non-tariff trade barriers
Miguel Carrión provides an insightful account of the costs that the new EU – UK relationship is bringing to both parties. During negotiations and in the aftermath of reaching a deal before the end of 2020, the British side presumed that non-tariff barriers to trade are relatively unimportant. However, “the UK has learned the hard way just how important non-tariff trade barriers are”, claims Carrión.
Carrión explains in detail the non-tariff “reality bites”, including the impact on trade of the rules of origin, the effects on hauling, and the impact of non-tariff barriers on sanitary and phytosanitary standards. It was the UK who insisted on having a “Canada” deal and the disruption this is causing – particularly for the UK – is remarkable.
Access here Miguel Carrión article for Agenda Pública.
The economic impact of overseas students in Spain
A new report commisioned by Eduespaña and produced by Spain Eduprogram about the economic impact of overseas students living in Spain provides some interesting facts. The report gives a precise account of the economic situation of the international education system in Spain just before the pandemic.
“The data that we have gathered in this report shows where we should aim at returning to once the pandemic is over”, explains Óscar Verdugo, president of Eduespaña.
The number of foreign students analysed in the report amounts to 1 million and their activity represents an impact for the Spanish economy of 3.8 billion euros per year. “These numbers are an indicator of up to what point the education sector can contribute to an advanced economy”, says Verdugo.
The report is accessible here.
What we are reading
ECB faces headache from ‘unwelcome’ rise in yields
Doves in Frankfurt echo lessons drawn by Fed and urge Central bank to keep foot on accelerator, argues Martin Sandbu in the FT.
The EU´s fiscal stance, its recovery fund, and how they relate to the fiscal rules
Joint EU borrowing to boost the recovery, if not treated as national deficit and debt, will substantially ease rules-based fiscal adjustment needs in Southern and Eastern Europe, but not in Western and Northern Europe.
COVID-19 has worsened gender inequality. These charts show what we can do about it
Economic disruption from the coronavirus outbreak has disproportionately burdened women with unpaid care. The World Economic Forum has put together some facts and graphics on this problem, including some policy solutions.
Have a nice week!
Raymond Torres, Funcas Europe Director