The last two decades of 20th Century and the first decade of 21st Century have been marked by the decrease of public sector intervention in economy and the crisis of Welfare State. These two phenomena are strictly interconnected: the spread of procompetitive principles corroded some pillars of Welfare State (like public services) and the power...
Basic Income and Representative Democracy
The idea of providing an unconditional basic income to every individual, rich or poor, active or inactive, has become one of the most widely debated social security proposals. It is necessary to distinguish between two different concepts of basic income which have gained ground over the last few years. According to the one, a living...
Regulation and Technology: Reducing the Digital Divide as a Legal Tool to Protect National Interests and Support Economic Growth
In the last years, several European and non-European governments implemented policies aimed at reducing the digital divide between their inner geographic areas. Digital divide is indeed a relevant source of social and economic inequalities between individuals and companies. Even if different in their own features, all these public programs aspire to facilitate economic growth, level...
State Capitalism and Foreign Investors: Towards a New Protectionism in Europe?
Over the past years, many European Countries have taken a significant measures that clearly fall within the traditional area of industrial policies. These include, inter alia, bailouts or the infusion of public capital into banks, support to struggling national enterprises and attempts to invest in research and development plans. Additional mechanisms of public governance of...
The Requisition of Property and Housing Emergency. An Unforeseen New Tool for Social Policies?
The requisition of property is an old legal tool, born in wartime: it was used by military authorities to provide houses, food, and any other kind of support for their troops. During the 20th Century this provision surprisingly extended its boundaries: from a wartime and extraordinary power, it becomes ordinary and it was accorded to...