What would a cooperative policy between Italy and the rest of Europe look like?
There is clearly no cooperation at present between Italy and Europe: Italy is running a significant fiscal deficit in order to stimulate demand and Europe has rejected this fiscal policy ; yields on Italian bonds have risen , eventually leading to a deterioration in the situation of banks across the euro zone . On the other hand, Europe has offered nothing to help Italy overcome its problems (stagnant productivity , weak investment ). What would a cooperative policy between Italy and the rest of Europe entail ? It would have the following components: Banks in the euro zone outside Italy would finance Italian companies, since Italian banks are not doing so; Italy would back down from using a fiscal deficit to stimulate demand, since its problem is on the supply side; Conversely , Europe would allow Italy to have a fiscal deficit used to finance support for investment and corporate modernisation; Europe would intervene to drive down Italian interest rates should yields on Italian bonds rise as a result of a liquidity crisis or speculative attack , and not as a result of the perception among financial markets that Italy’s fiscal deficit will be ineffectual.