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 »
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
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 »
Paul Krugman has written in his End This Depression Now! ‘In normal times, the latest academic research plays a very small role in real-world policy debates, which is arguably how it should be – in the heat of the political moment, how many policy makers are truly equipped to evaluate the quality of a professor’s
Evidence gone missing in the Italian election campaign show Read More »
Prof. Mario Monti was nominated senator for life in late 2011 by the Italian president Giorgio Napolitano. This move allowed our president to assign to Prof. Monti the task to establish a new government after the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi at the time when Italy was on the brink of default (October 2011). Prof. Monti’s
The solitude of an academic in the world of Italian politics Read More »
Six Italian scientists have been found guilty for having given insufficient warning to residents of L’Aquila about the seismic risks they faced ahead of earthquake that hit the city in the night of 6 of April 2009. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 and caused 309 deaths, more than 1.500 injured and more than
Six years of jail to scientists for L\’Aquila earthquake. Trial against science? Read More »