Insufficient competition remains a major obstacle to growth in Italy. The main culprits include the institutional environment and the regulations governing some economic sectors subject to market failures. As to the former, relative neglect of economic efficiency has produced an unstable and...

The accumulation of large amount of sovereign reserves has fuelled an intense debate on the associated costs. In a world with liquidity crises and strategic default, we model a contracting game between international lenders and a country, which delivers the country's optimal portfolio choice and...