The Covid-19 Monetary and Fiscal Response in the Euro-Area and the EU

Abstract

The chapter offers an overview on how the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Italy since March 2020. After two months of lockdown, with the national health system close to collapse, the Government addressed the emergency through a public spending policy in line with the temporary suspension of Euro-area public budget constraints. The current pandemic crisis reflects the long-term Italian economic weaknesses of a country that was never rescued from the 2008 crisis. The launch of the NextGenerationEU fund provides some hope of change for the future. However, in the chapter it is underlined that Italy needs a new model of economic and industrial policy to achieve sustainable production growth. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan, Woosik Moon and Wook Sohn;individual chapters, the contributors.