Interesting times in Italian politics. President Napolitano has assigned the task of forming a new government to Pier Luigi Bersani, the leader of the Democratic Party Italy\’s leading center-left party which in this month (i.e.March) election secured a majority in the Chamber of Deputies but not in the Senate. A new government requires the vote […]
I woke up this morning thinking about the political situation in Italy. Yesterday, President Napolitano, began meetings with the various parties represented in the parliament to understand if and to whom give the task of trying to establish a government which will also need to be voted by the majority of parliamentarians in the two
Evidence can wait. Can’t it? Read More »
Silvio Berlusconi did it again. Fifteen months ago he was forced down as prime minister in favor of Mario Monti. The country economy on the brink of default. Even his allied believed he was finished as a politician. His party falling downhill in people\’s preference. His allies jumping from the sinking ship. Unable to find
Why so many Italians vote for Berlusconi? Read More »
Research evidence is important for policy and decision making, we argue in our RAPID programme at ODI. Policies and decisions which are informed by research evidence lead to better decision and policies. Decision and policies which are grounded on the knowledge and the truth that comes from scientific research. I thought about this while reading
What comes first? Research evidence or ideology? Read More »
I have written this blog which takes a look at the way evidence is informing social welfare policy in Indonesia, arguing that Indonesia requires an (endogenous) big push to strengthen the use of research and data analysis for the design of public policies and to sustain growth. Read and comment to the blog which is
Interesting paper by Francis Fukuyama for the CGD: What is Governance? Here the abstract: This paper points to the poor state of empirical measures of the quality of states, that is, executive branches and their bureaucracies. Much of the problem is conceptual, since there is very little agreement on what constitutes high-quality government. The paper suggests
What is Governance? A paper by Francis Fukuyama Read More »
You may have faith or not. You may be religious or not. You may follow the church precepts or not, it does not matter. The announcement of the Pope’s resignation as of 28. February is something that will be in the history books for many years (centuries) to come. Growing up in Italy you just
The resignation of the Pope, courage and Italian politics Read More »
Today I received an email from a friend and learned a new Italian word: oblatività. In English? Something like: altruism, selflessness, unselfishness. The origin of this word is in the Latin words such as oblativu(m), oblatus which means something like giving without the expectation of getting something back. If you Google it, you will find
A new Italian word I discovered today and the connections it made in my mind Read More »