Reading an article on Milano Finanza, you will be able to understand the excellence of the Made in Italy and the ability to create a branding that attracts everyone around the world.
In fact, few have noticed it amidst the challenges of public finances, the decline in industrial production, and geopolitical uncertainties: Italy is experiencing a true economic miracle that receives far too little attention. It’s the miracle of exports. Italy ranks as the fourth-largest exporter in the world—despite not being the fourth-largest economy globally and instead holding the third-largest public debt worldwide.
All the companies competing in international markets deserve heartfelt applause, with the hope that this record will be repeated, aiming for a trade surplus of nearly €700 billion by 2027.
Let me say it: tigers aren’t only in Asia—we have them in Italy too. And it’s not just about exports. This aspect has also been underreported, but on December 19, the European Commission published its annual ranking of member states based on their economic and financial performance across 13 indicators designed to detect potential imbalances. Remarkably, excluding public debt—where Italy unfortunately leads globally—Italy is the only country, alongside Poland, to exceed 12 of the 13 targets.
Specifically, Italy performs well in terms of:
- Current account balance as a percentage of GDP
- Net international investment position
- Real exchange rate
- Export performance
- Nominal unit labor costs
- Household debt
- Non-financial corporate debt
- Household credit
- Credit to non-financial corporations
- House price index
- Unemployment rate, and
Labor force participation rate.
Additionally, the strong performance of the stock market and the decline in the spread should be acknowledged, though, for some reason, these are not included in the Brussels parameters—even though the spread alone used to determine the lifespan of governments.
Is everything perfect? It would be excessive and somewhat irrational to claim so. However, aside from wages—which have unfortunately stagnated for decades and may even underpin this significant performance—and the cost of living, which remains high despite a drop in the official inflation rate, Italy’s fundamentals are solid.
The narrative around these results should shift to reflect this reality—simply by discussing them. This is precisely what Italian ambassadors and businesses do admirably abroad, as evidenced by the success seen in the numbers.
Read the article in Italian HERE.
