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ОБЗОРЫ И ДИСКУССИИ DISCUSSION
Вестник Челябинского государственного университета. 2019. № 3 (425). Экономические науки. Вып. 64. С. 205—211.
УДК 339 DOI 10.24411/1994-2796-2019-10324
ББК 65.9(4 Ита)
CONCEPT OF ECONOMIC FAILURE IN ITALY: REVERSIBLE OR IRREVERSIBLE PHENOMENON?
A. Campa, V.I. Barkhatov
Chelyabinsk State University, Chelyabinsk, Russia
The article analyses the concept of economic failure in Italy, it is strictly connect with the tragic phenomenon of suicide. The article gives a panoramic of this tragic argument about Italy, it shows statistics and real history that happened in recent times.
Keywords: economic failure, unemployment, crisis, Italy.
Introduction
In the end of 2007 has started a strong economic crisis that affected all nations, even if it started in the USA. After nine years the situation about global economy is heterogeneous, indeed there are nations as USA that overcame the crisis and they are having signs of economic recovery, other nations as Russia have a momentary recession but all instruments to overcome the recession, considering for example that level of unemployment in Russia is less than 7 % for example, then there is the case of China in which growth is 3 points of GDP less, but in all cases Chinese economy is continuing to growth up even if more slowly than before. And then there is the European Union, that except Germany is continuing to living a period of crisis, that is more strong in the Southern Europe, in such nations as Italy, Spain and Greece, the last is living a dramatic situation that is that continues to get worse rather than to be better.
People react in different ways to economic crisis because their feelings are different; in this context extra-economic and economic factors work together without a border, vice versa they influence each other in a society setting that can be very different from a nation to another. In this analysis a clear example is represented by the concept of economic failure that can be analyzed from different point of view; there is the failure by the loss of job, but it can be a failure also a small business that must close because of debts; in all these cases the economic loss influences human behave and also future choices. An important difference that there is between Italian and Russian society is how they face up to the economic failure and its
consequences. The different approach (that is absolutely emotional and psychological) derived from the different economic structure; indeed in Russia the loss of job is not so grave fact, considering that there is work and is not so difficult and long the process of searching a new one. Vice versa in Italy, stability is an important fact and loss of job is considered a grave fact at first because is very difficult to find a new one; averagely search for a new job can be long six month, but in a lot of cases also more than an year. In Russia, this time is very shorter than in Italy.
Looking about perspectives for young people the situation is more dramatic in Italy. Indeed if a Russian person who lose a job can find another work fast and continue to live normally in his country, in Italy 40.5 % of young people (15-24 years old) is unemployed, it is another element that says why in Italy is so hard to overcome crisis and an economic failure, indeed there are not margin of real development in economy. In this context a dramatic phenomenon started in Italy, people who are not able to support the weight of the economic failure, in some cases they decided to kill themselves, considering that there are not reasons for living and that situation will not be better in the future. A study made by Link Campus Laboratory of socio-economic research, is possible to affirm that in three years from 2012 to 2015, number of people who decided to commit suicide because of economic crisis, they are 628; there is another fact that is very important to analyze: ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics), the Italian public institute of statistics, stopped to analyze number of died people because of economic crisis on the 2010, after this year ISTAT
stopped to publish and research new information and statistics about this phenomenon. Officially ISTAT declared that this decision was taken because is too difficult to say that a person committed suicide because one cause only, it can happens frequently that a person decide to commit suicide because of a set of causes; but there is also who theorized that the decision is only political, considering that in the last four years, number of suicide because of economic crisis increased very much (Mackinson, 2015).
Italian and Russian people consider this actions as catastrophic, but the difference then is in the analysis of the gesture; Italian opinion understands and feels compassion and anger for all those people that were killed by the economic crisis, vice versa Russian common opinion is of course is sincerely sorry for the gesture, but it cannot fully comprehend the aim of the gesture, that's why a lot of Russian people are also surprise to know that a person would decide to kill himself because of an economic failure.
This different approach is the result of differences that there are between Russian and Italian society. At first time mentality is different, indeed Russian people they already lived in a crisis period during 1998, therefore they know what means crisis; instead in the same period Italians felt and relished the last period of the "beautiful life", so now they don't know how to react to crisis.
But is also true that is not honest to say that the difference is simply about mentality; it is too much restrictive to think that because of mentality, a person wants to kill himself. This article wants to be an answer to this question, a more specific analysis to understand why a person have to do such horrible gesture, why a victim of crisis decides to end his life.
The main factor that makes the difference between the decision to kill himself or not, is the concept and the approach to the economic failure, considering at first its humanistic and sociological dimension.
At first is better to introduce some true stories about people that decide to kill their self because of economical crisis.
Are more than five years that Journals started to write about this tragic phenomenon, even if since two years something change; it seems that in Italy became "normal" that someone kill himself because of crisis. Every situation is different, and they merit a lot of comprehension and respect at first, but in all cases result is the same, a life destroyed by economy; bank system, taxes, laws, economic strategy, new markets, are some of a lot of terms and concept that every day an economist analyzes and studies. But before all it, is
necessary to remember that behind a worker, a manager, there are not profit, incomes or social expenditure, there is a man that has a soul, a story and a family, an operator that is not rational but who has his life, the satisfaction to have an house, children who study at school, a wife that respect the figure of his husband.
On the 5th of October 2015, Cosimo Damiano Nardelli, he was 38 years old, he jumped from the train that was moving from Milan to his hometown, Ostuni in Apulia and he killed himself. Ten years ago he graduated with excellent marks in economy at the Catholic University of Milan, son of workers, he dreamed a stable place and had tried several competitions, but without success. He works for some years in summer as waiter in typical restaurants in his hometown, in Milan he worked into a call centre, but after also this job expire, without a solution he preferred to suicide (Pavone, 2010).
On 7th July of 2013, in Meda in the north of Italy Marco Cacciatore, the day before his birthday, when he was only 25, he killed himself with a gun, lie on his bed. He left a letter in which he asked sorry to all his family, to God for this gesture, but he really was not able to continue to live without a job and with his father unemployed since two years. Days ago there was a possibility of a job, but again as a lot of times happened before the opportunity fell through, this time was too big the humiliation for he, that's why he decided that suicide was the only solution; as he wrote in his letter he said that he was not able neither to buy cigarettes. "Is not possible to push a boy who is 26 to kill his self only because he cannot find a job, said Giuseppe N., the uncle of the young. This is a State murder and someone will have to pay for his death" (Colombo, 2010).
On the 24th of June 2015, in province of Padova Egidio Maschio, 73 years old was found died into a room of his company, we died because of a shoot of gun. He did it himself; as all mornings he arrived with his Merceds at 06.30 at his factory founded with his brother Giorgio, they produced machines for farmers, they had 19 productive centres, three of them abroad, Romania, China and India. Moreover, its fabric had more than two thousands workers and 324 mil euro of income for year but also a lot of investments and loans with banks, probably a new project too big for this company made he to suicide (Vecelio, 2015).
Friday 17th of June 2016, Antonio Bedin 69 years old, he killed himself with a shoot of gun on face in his house; he lived in Montebelluno Vicentino, in the North East of Italy, he worked a life as chemical expert. During his life he conserved more than 400 thousands
euro with sacrifices and a lot of hard work, he decided to conserve them buying shares of "Banca Popolare di Vicenza" (People's Bank of Vicenza), a famous territorial bank; he bought a share years ago for 62.5 euro, but in the last few months real value of shares of Banca Popolare di Vicenza felt down, and it arrived to the actual 0.10 euro of quotation. In few terms his 400 thousands euro became 800 euro because the Manager of Bank and all Council of Administration made during the last period took some not right decision also in a juridical context, indeed they decided to overvalue shares to cover momentary the failure of Bank. Antonio Bedin is one of 120 thousand people that in the region of Veneto, they bought shares when the governance of Banca Popolare di Vicenza decided to hide the real grade of risk, so all these people they didn't really know which financial product they were buying; that's why Antonio was so angry with the bank, because they cheated him bluntly, he was also ill and he hoped to use those money to cure himself in a private hospital for old people, but with 800 euro is neither possible to buy food for one month in the North East of Italy. Fifteen days before, on the 2nd of June he went in a filial of the Bank, and he threatened to commit suicide, but he was stopped in time by police, but the weight of failure was too high, and it moves to take the decision to kill himself two weeks later (Bivilan, 2016).
Actual situation in Italy
Table 1
Number of Suicide in Italy
because of economic crisis
Gender Suicide because of economic crisis
2012 2013 2014 2015
1st sem. 2nd sem. 1st sem. 2nd sem. 1st sem. 2nd sem. 1st sem. 2nd sem.
Male 63 23 72 72 108 79 111 64
Female 1 2 4 1 7 7 10 4
Tot. 64 25 76 73 115 86 121 68
Tot. M+F 89 149 201 189
Font: Link Lab, Laboratory of socio-economic research of Link Campus University.
Actually is not possible to make an identikit that can help to recognize where is more concentrate this phenomenon. There is not a specific point that presents more cases than other, this phenomenon is happening in the South Italy as in the North Italy. About the age of people, as about the social condition, there is not a linear scheme; that's why young people as retirees they have decided to commit suicide, independently if they were just workers or managers.
Therefore it is an invisible phenomenon, so ensues also more difficult to understand how to help these
people. State doesn't have instrument or any kind of plan that can help who wants to suicide because of crisis; Italian welfare state system takes care of a lot of needs and helps a lot of different categories of people, there are subsidies for retired and poor people, so for example they will not have to pay some medical performance, for who is taking drugs as for who is an alcoholic there are specific centres that help these people to stop to take these substances, who was raped can call a free phone number and an expert can help this person. But about this specific problem, there is nothing that can help these people, they are alone, and even if they tried to ask help, no one was able to hear it.
Table 2
Quantity of suicide because of economic crisis, in % divided for professional status
Year
Status ^^ 2012 2013 2014 2015
Entrepreneur 55.1 45.6 40.3 46.1
Unemployed 31.5 38.9 48.3 34.9
Employee 7.9 12.8 5.5 14.8
Retired 5.5 0.7 0.9 2.6
Other 0.0 2.0 5.0 1.6
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Font: Link Lab, Laboratory of socio-economic research of Link Campus University.
At first reader must consider that the suicide because of crisis, as all kind of suicide, is painful and long-evaluated decision; at first the idea of suicide is shown by the person as a solution to his problems, that's why the suicide is considered by the person as a "friend" who will resolve all problems of his life. But when the idea of suicide becomes a real possibility, person starts to evaluate pro and con, if is better to live or to die, is as an inner struggle that creates the state of depression of the person (Cavaliere, 2015).
The causes because a man decided to commit suicide are so many as are people who died because of it, like is written before, every situation is unique; anyway to understand better this phenomenon author identified some cases that could make more clear why a person decided to commit suicide because of economic situation.
A study conducted by Employee Labour Trust Index of Gi Group in collaboration with OD&M Consulting made in six European countries - Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Poland — shows that in Italy, people feels that time to find a new job is 10 months for top managers, 18 months for the over 50, average time generally is 15 months. In Europe the average time to find a new job that people feels,
2012
2014
2013
2015
North w.
I North C.
Centro Soli til
Islands
Fig. 1. Geographical distribution of suicide because of economic crisis Font: Link Lab, Laboratory of socio-economic research of Link Campus University.
is about 11 months, but only 7,76 months in Germany and 8 in England (Orioli, 2012). How a family can live without job and income for 18 months? In some cases these families have a loan on their house to pay, or debts or simply they don't have anyone who can help them to overcome a difficult period.
Labour situation in Italy is living a period of grave crisis, not only because of number of unemployed, but also because it lacks of structural reforms that can create a flexible and dynamic labour system, that's why is very difficult to find a new job after a person lost the previous. If a person starts to think that for 15 months he will not have money to can buy neither a piece of bread, is normal that he is starting to be worried for his future; but if the reader adds also that after this person lost his job, he has start a research for a new one, but after months he is not finding anything that may help to resolve his dramatic situation, there will be people who will become stronger and they will be able to do everything to can save their family, there will be who will go abroad to can find new solutions, but there will be also who will not see an exit from this critique situation, and is in this " dark tunnel" that he will start to think about suicide as solution.
This feel about average time necessary to find a new job, is also aggravated by data about unemployment and youth unemployment in Italy. On the 31st of July 2015, the journal "Il fatto Quotidiano" shows the following situation: 12,7 %% of Italian are unemployed, more than 44 %% of young Italian (from 15 to 24 years old) are not working or studying, from the begin of 2015 80 thousand people lost their job and 131 thousand restart to find actively for a new one (F.Q., 2015).
Trend of youth regional unemployment in Italy is very worrying; next table shows to reader how the actual crisis creates a very difficult situation for young Italian. Objectives data show that unemployed in Italy is a problem that affects more the Southern part than the North of Italy, but because as is written before, cases of suicide happens in all Italy, this analysis shows to reader that the suicide because of economic crisis, is a subjective problem that affect people regardless of where they live.
Table 3
Level of youth unemployment for Region in Italy in percentage
Región 2007 2013
Valle d'Aosta 11.8 30.8
Piemonte 14.3 40.2
Liguria 20.7 42.1
Lombardia 12.9 30.8
Veneto 8.4 25.3
Friuli Venezia Giulia 14.5 24.2
Bolzano 5.3 12.2
Trento 8.9 23.5
Emilia Romagna 10.8 33.3
Toscana 13.7 33.4
Marche 9.3 36.1
Umbria 12.7 36.5
Lazio 24.9 45.9
Campania 32.5 51.7
Abruzzo 17.2 37.3
Molise 23.8 48.9
Puglia 31.8 49.7
Calabria 31.6 56.1
Sicilia 37.2 53.8
Sardegna 32.5 54.2
Font: ISTAT, 2013.
The actual economic crisis increased the difficulty to find a new job, and the immobility of the State contributes to not resolve the situation. The real and most important problem is the immobility of labour market that has old laws and is not able to answer adequately to the economic change. Actually, who has a job feels that he has a fortunate possibility to can live calmly, that's why a job represent an important instrument to guarantee stability for the family; with these data about unemployed, who has a job should feel his self as a privileged person, independently of his wage. As consequence of this, in the moment in which the person lost his job, a strong base of his stability is destroyed; stability can be watched by the reader not only as a strong economic position, but as psychological stability that make a person to live normally his life, with serenity for he and all his family.
Job loss as the impossibility to find a new one, is lived very negatively not only by the person protagonist, but also by who is living next him; the history of Marco Cacciatore is a clear example of it, indeed his father lost job two years ago, and because of economic situation of his family he decided to commit suicide. The impossibility to find a solution and no prospective about the future are the most principal input that make people to think about the suicide. Analyzing the situation in Italy, clearly emerges that motivations that make workers to commit suicide are not the same for managers and owners of companies.
Frustration for the future creates frustration and generates fear that leads worker to think about the suicide, but for manager the first factor, which leads him to commit suicide, is the consideration of failure as an irreversible phenomenon. Failure of his company means that all his life failed, everything in which he believed and all what he invested in his company.
Italy has a different economic history than other countries of Europe, the financial system made of banks, credits and loans was not the most popular in Italy until the crisis has started. Italian people are famous to be a population of small savers who put money under the floor, into pillows or in deposits. The Italian medium person, is such man who doesn't like to risk in his life, ho looks at finance as something of very complicate and dark, that's why he prefers to conserve his money and to buy something only with liquid money, he will wait to buy a phone as an expensive coat or to restructure his house, but he will not ask for a credit.
This principle is valid also for the entrepreneur who directs his company. Before to expose savings of his life, they value very carefully how to use and invest their money, for this reason is important to underline that in case of failure, the entrepreneur will lose all what he has.
Also when a person has the economic idea and he starts to project it, the approach is to create something
50
Under 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Over 65
Fig. 2. Quantity of suicide because of economic crisis in % divided by age Font: Link Lab, Laboratory of socio-economic research of Link Campus University.
that will not close in the future; at Universities professors teach that the first aim of a company is to survive. So the student who could be a manager or entrepreneur learns that a company must "survive", and unknowingly risks become a negative aspect for the company, and not natural as it must be. An investment, like the begin of a new economic activity, are valued as an irreversible factor bound to change radically person's life, that's why Italian entrepreneurs live hardly the failure of their company.
Anyway, what hurts more, what move an entrepreneur to commit suicide, is that they are not able to act against their failure. Companies which are failing in Italy have an important story, sometimes they are older than one century, they have been handed down from generation to generation, so they are as a part of the family. They had very good times and is difficult to think how is possible that a company that generated wealthy for so many years, in this moment is failing because of an external factor.
Then, the fact that companies usually have a family dimension, contributes to increase the psychological weight of fail; indeed the failure of the family company, is lived not only as an economic fail by the entrepreneur, but also as a reason of disappointment that
the family has seeing the entrepreneur "destroying" the family company, a delusion for who encourage you to manage the activity. In the end, for an entrepreneur the concept of failure is irreversible also because, as it is for a worker, after he will lose his job and his company, the actual situation doesn't offer a new begin to him; the immobility of Italian market, the impossibility to restart make the entrepreneur to be worried, he is not able to image another any future, that's why he will think to suicide.
Theme is complicated and important, and all economic parts are called to find a solution, the instrument to help these people and to stop this tragic phenomenon. It is a proof that economy cannot be considered simply as numbers and balance, because behind every wage or loan there is at first a person who has sentiments and feelings at first. In a new economic system which lost in part the humanity that must characterized economy, the actual economic crisis is definitely destroying this feeling that is the base of the society, so the State must act, to preserve the society at first. These people must have someone who can help them, to explain that the concept of failure cannot be irreversible, simply because there is a solution for every problem, only for death there is not a solution.
References
1. Pavone G. Dramma della disoccupazione: laureato e senza lavoro si suicida buttandosi dal treno. Portale studenti del 05/10/2010. Available at: http://www.studenti.it/lavoro/leggi_contratti/dramma-della-disoccupazio-ne-laureato-e-senza-lavoro-si-suicida-buttandosi-dal-treno.php (In Italian).
2. Colombo D. Meda, 26enne disoccupato si suicida «Non ho neppure i soldi per le sigarette. Corriere di Milano (Corriere della Sera) del 07/07/2013. Available at: http://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/13_luglio_7/ giovane-disoccupato-meda-suicidio-spara-2222036840019.shtml (In Italian).
3. Vecelio V., Continua la strage di imprenditori e disoccupati. Ma non fa piu "notizia". Giornale online art. 21 del 24/06/2015. Available at: http://www.articolo21.org/2015/06/continua-la-strage-di-imprenditori-e-disoc-cupati-ma-non-fa-piu-notizia/, 2015. (In Italian).
4. Dott. Cavaliere R. Suicidio. Il tuo psicologo. Available at: http://www.iltuopsicologo.it/suicidio.asp, 2015. (In Italian).
5. Orioli L. Lavoro, quanto tempo ci vuole per trovare un nuovo impiego? Panorama/economia of 23rd December. Available at: http://www.panorama.it/economia/lavoro-quanto-tempo-ci-vuole-per-trovare-un-nuo-vo-impiego/, 2012. (In Italian).
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7. ISTAT, Tasso di disoccupazione giovanile. Noi Italia. Available at: http://noi-italia.istat.it/index.php?i-d=7&user_100ind_pi1[id_pagina]=102, 2013. (In Italian).
8. Bulian L. Popolare di Vicenza, risparmiatore suicida. Il giornale 17/06/2016. Available at: http://www. ilgiornale.it/news/politica/popolare-vicenza-risparmiatore-suicida-1272718.html, 2016. (In Italian).
9. Mackinson T., Crisi, é il "semestre nero dei suicidi economici. Ma l'ISTAT non li conta piu". Il fatto quotidiano del 24 Luglio 2015. Available at: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/07/24/crisi-e-il-semestre-nero-dei-suicidi-economici-ma-listat-non-li-conta-piu/1902144/, 2015. (In Italian).
Сведения об авторах
Кампа Антонио — преподаватель Института экономики отраслей бизнеса и администрирования Челябинского государственного университета, Челябинск, Россия. campa@csu.ru
Бархатов Виктор Иванович — доктор экономических наук, профессор, заведующий кафедрой экономики отраслей и рынков Челябинского государственного университета, Челябинск, Россия. ieo-science@csu.ru
Bulletin of Chelyabinsk State University.
2019. No. 3 (425). Economic Sciences. Iss. 64. Рp. 205—211.
КОНЦЕПЦИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО КРАХА В ИТАЛИИ: ЯВЛЕНИЕ ОБРАТИМОЕ ИЛИ НЕТ?
А. Кампа, В. И. Бархатов
Челябинский государственный университет, Челябинск, Россия
Анализируется понятие экономического краха в Италии, оно тесно связано с трагическим явлением самоубийств. Дана панорамная картина этой трагической проблемы Италии, показаны статистика и реальная история последних лет.
Ключевые слова: экономический крах, безработица, кризис, Италия.
