The 16th edition of the Festival of Economics – the second one during the pandemic – will start on 3 June and, as stated by the scientific director of the festival Tito Boeri during the presentation of 2021 programme, the theme of the event will be the “return of the State”. Companies, communities, and institutions are gathering to show how the State has recovered its primary role in such a period, in which Covid19 has radically changed the economic, social, political, and cultural environment we are living in.
What should the public sector do for its citizens, and what should it leave to the discretion of private entities? How should it deal with private entities that pursue their individual or business interests and, besides, organize into communities and voluntary sector associations, able to provide for the common good in the same way of, or even better than, the public sector? These and other matters will be discussed during the meetings scheduled from 3 to 6 June.
This is going to be a more international festival compared to previous editions, due to the number of speakers from other countries and to the topics addressed, as indicated in the Festival press conference.
Five Nobel Prizes in Economics (Michael Kremer, Paul Milgrom , Joseph E. Stiglitz, Michael Spence, and Jean Tirole), the governor of the Bank of Italy Mr. Ignazio Visco, and seven Italian ministers (Renato Brunetta, Roberto Cingolani, Vittorio Colao, Massimo Garavaglia, Mariastella Gelmini, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Enrico Giovannini) will discuss some of the most relevant effects generated by the pandemic over the last year, together with other institutional leaders and representatives of the domestic and international economic landscape.
“During the pandemic, Grant Thornton International Ltd (global network with 58.000 professionals in 136 countries) experts – commented Alessandro Dragonetti, Managing Partner and Head of Tax of Bernoni Grant Thornton – were able to find original solutions, supporting clients with their day-to-day activities, to deal with the health, economic, and social emergency, as well as with the cultural and managerial challenges arisen from the establishment of new market scenarios and new way of working, which will need to be increasingly more sustainable, from both an environmental and circular-economy perspective.
The Festival of Economics in Trento is a high-level domestic and international discussion occasion, giving Grant Thornton partners the opportunity to learn and take original ideas to be implemented in the working procedures and shared with clients.
In such a context, Grant Thornton, thanks to its team of professionals, who assisted companies in the daily management of business issues during the pandemic and, as a network specialized in audit, tax, legal, advisory, and outsourcing services, can give an important contribution in the discussion and sharing of ideas and experiences, making its expertise available in the analysis of issues such as training of personnel, requalification of services, international growth strategies, business culture of innovation”.
Fabio Gallassi, Managing Partner of Ria Grant Thornton, stated: “the event is extremely relevant and important for Grant Thornton. In fact, over years, it has sponsored the Festival, participated into public discussions on various issues impacting the challenges and opportunities for the economy and for companies within the diverse scenarios analysed during the festival, published the international business report, and participated in the event, through some of its leading partners intervening as speakers.
During the 2019 edition, Peter Bodin, Global CEO of Grant Thornton International and Chair of IMPACT 2030 – the partnership of leading companies created to support the United Nations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 – explained how cities and regions can attract more investment from multinational companies and, when they manage to do it, how they impact on local development”.
In this 2021 edition of the festival, on 5 June at 17:30, Roberto H. Tentori, Chairman of Grant Thornton Consultants, will discuss the positive and negative effects of two opposite scenarios, i.e. the State’s advance into and the States’ retreat from economies, infrastructures, public and privatized companies providing essential services to citizens in countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
Among other speakers, there are: Maria Vittoria Marongiu, General Director of the Italian Agency for the representation of Public Administrations in collective bargaining (Agenzia per la rappresentanza negoziale delle pubbliche amministrazioni – ARAN); Andrea Montanino, Chief Economist at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Chairman of Fondo Italiano d’Investimento; Fabiano Schivardi, lecturer of political economy at Luiss Guido Carli university and Pro-Rector for Research. Paola Pica, from Il Corriere della Sera, will intervene as moderator.
The latest Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) - research carried out on 5,000 business leader in the mid-market in 29 countries, including Italy – published in the end of February 2021 and titled "Globalisation is go again", provides some interesting hints on the issues that will be discussed during the festival this year, as well as on how managers and businesses are responding to the pandemic in Italy and in other countries under analysis and on the forecasts for the next 12 months.