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Abstract:
Upon leading his centre-right government to power in 2001 Silvio Berlusconi and senior members of his government made important economic programme promises, raised expectations about the management of the economy and the direction it would take. The promise of 1,500,000 jobs, tax reductions and economic growth have all appeared on the list of measures that would be implemented by this new government. Berlusconi in fact went as far as entering a public Contratto con gli Italiani (contract with the Italians), adding that if he did not respect at least four of the five measures during his term in government he would not seek re-election in 2006.Since 2001 much of the news about and analysis of the Italian government has been dominated by Berlusconi's 'conflict of interest', and not so ethical conduct. Much less debate has centred around policies related to management of the economy. Why is the Italian economy doing so poorly, and how much can be blamed on the Berlusconi government? Most importantly, how has confidence, both managerial and public, altered over the period of the Berlusconi administration? This paper seeks to take a critical view of the economic policies and outcomes at the end of Berlusconi's term in government and compare them with the expectations and promises made in 2001.
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