Fiorella Kostoris
Encyclopedia
Fiorella Kostoris Padoa-Schioppa (born 5 May 1945) is an Italian economist
who is currently Professor at the University of Rome (La Sapienza)
. She is also a professor at the College of Europe
in Bruges. She has published approximately a hundred articles and twenty books in various languages on topics concerning macroeconomics
, labor, public finance
, unemployment
, pension
reform and other topics. She was president of ISAE, the Italian independent but government-funded economic think tank until March 2003. She is currently working on a book on European economic policies and institutions.
Fiorella Kostoris was married to the late Italian economist and politician Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa
.
meetings (although the communists made fun of her for arriving in an Alfa Romeo Giulia
sports car). After graduating from Milan's Bocconi University
in Economics she went to the United States where she earned a graduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1968. Of her experience in the US she said "I came back more of a [classical] liberal, more convinced that overall welfare is maximized by people seeking their own individual well being". At MIT she met Franco Modigliani
and later became an editor of his collected papers.
Her best known book is Italy: The Sheltered Economy (1993) http://books.google.com/books?id=7-dMYD5lIyYC in which she made the case that Italy has a huge and interventionist governmental economic policy compared to other countries and that much of this state action and regulation is irrational and counter-efficient.
; in a speech in Cernobbio on 29 March he said "There are too many holidays. A few days of extra work will produce a beneficial effect on GNP". But the public reaction was quite negative and the idea was quietly dropped.
While Kostoris was pilloried as a slave driver who wants to force people to work, the substantive issues raised in her article were not seriously addressed.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
who is currently Professor at the University of Rome (La Sapienza)
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome, officially Sapienza – Università di Roma, formerly known as Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a coeducational, autonomous state university in Rome, Italy...
. She is also a professor at the College of Europe
College of Europe
The College of Europe is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges, Belgium...
in Bruges. She has published approximately a hundred articles and twenty books in various languages on topics concerning macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...
, labor, public finance
Public finance
Public finance is the revenue and expenditure of public authoritiesThe purview of public finance is considered to be threefold: governmental effects on efficient allocation of resources, distribution of income, and macroeconomic stabilization.-Overview:The proper role of government provides a...
, unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
reform and other topics. She was president of ISAE, the Italian independent but government-funded economic think tank until March 2003. She is currently working on a book on European economic policies and institutions.
Fiorella Kostoris was married to the late Italian economist and politician Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa , Knight Grand Cross was a well-known pro-European Italian banker and economist who was Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance from May 2006 until May 2008...
.
Personal background
She was born in 1945 in Rome but raised in Trieste in a Jewish family that placed a high value on education and on knowledge of foreign languages. In an interview http://www.melba.it/csf/articolo.asp?articolo=175 she described how she was one of only 5 pupils in her class each of whom competed every day to be ranked first by the teacher. She has described herself as very left wing in her youth, even attending Italian Communist PartyItalian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
meetings (although the communists made fun of her for arriving in an Alfa Romeo Giulia
Alfa Romeo Sprint GT (Veloce)
The Alfa Romeo 105/115 series Coupés were a range of cars made by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1963 until 1977. They were the successors to the celebrated Giulietta Sprint coupé and used a shortened floorpan from the Giulia Berlina car....
sports car). After graduating from Milan's Bocconi University
Bocconi University
Bocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
in Economics she went to the United States where she earned a graduate degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1968. Of her experience in the US she said "I came back more of a [classical] liberal, more convinced that overall welfare is maximized by people seeking their own individual well being". At MIT she met Franco Modigliani
Franco Modigliani
Franco Modigliani was an Italian economist at the MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT Department of Economics, and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1985.-Life and career:...
and later became an editor of his collected papers.
Her best known book is Italy: The Sheltered Economy (1993) http://books.google.com/books?id=7-dMYD5lIyYC in which she made the case that Italy has a huge and interventionist governmental economic policy compared to other countries and that much of this state action and regulation is irrational and counter-efficient.
Her controversial policy recommendation
On 19 March 2004 Kostoris published an article in the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore entitled Abolire una settimana di ferie per rilanciare l'economia. Kostoris adduced statistics showing that the average Italian worker works fewer hours throughout his career than his European and North American counterparts. Furthermore the number of hours worked per year is gradually decreasing. If this trend could be reversed Italian economic growth would pick up. The causes of the low hours of work per person are many; they include early retirement, delays in finding a job, strikes for non-contract related reasons, as well as more holidays than other countries. To illustrate the tradeoff between work and leisure Kostoris calculated that if every Italian gave up one week of time off the GNP would increase by 0.3% to 0.4%. The idea was initially endorsed by Italian prime minister Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
; in a speech in Cernobbio on 29 March he said "There are too many holidays. A few days of extra work will produce a beneficial effect on GNP". But the public reaction was quite negative and the idea was quietly dropped.
While Kostoris was pilloried as a slave driver who wants to force people to work, the substantive issues raised in her article were not seriously addressed.