This makes life more difficult for those who want and are able to invent, to paraphrase the historian Carlo Maria Cipolla, ‘new things that please the world’, which is the only way to create solid economic development. This slow progress is explained by the particular characteristics of Italian firms, which influence demand, and those of financial entities, which influence supply.
Let’s look at some of them. I must warn you that I shall be focusing on insurance companies, regardless of their current importance in corporate financing, for reasons connected not only with my role but also with the future prospects for this issue. Firms Let’s begin with the demand side, or rather with firms asking for loans.