A number of recent comprehensive reports2, notably by the Banca d’Italia, ISTAT, Confindustria, and various Italian think-tanks, have emphasized a broad range of institutional and economic factors behind the Italian labour productivity-competitiveness problem. Some of them are discussed at your conference today and tomorrow.
The January 2001 proposal to amend and augment the Basel Capital Accord, called Basel II, seeks to strengthen the market’s ability to aid bank supervisors in evaluating capital adequacy. The proposal consists of three pillars, or tools: risk-based capital (pillar I), risk-based supervision (pillar II), and disclosure of risks and capital adequacy to enhance market discipline (pillar III).