##s, no doubts of interpretation. ’ 10 but the autonomy of central banks, as the articles printed in the corriere della sera on 9 december 1920 remind us, is not part of the natural condition of mankind ; quite the opposite. 15. how much power or discretion the sovereign can exert in printing money is an age - old question. in the west, the idea that sovereigns could not exercise this prerogative in a discretionary manner without endangering the well - being of their subjects or even their own, dates at least as far back as nicole oresme and his treatise on the origin, nature, law, and alterations of money, written six and a half centuries ago. but the task of translating these principles into institutional rules that would sanction the separation of the state treasury and the ‘ money press ’ took a long time and varied from country to country. in italy the matter was settled between 1981 and 1993 with ciampi the undisputed protagonist of that process. ‘ the monnet method : its relevance for europe then and now ’, mario draghi, president of the ecb, award of the gold medal of the fondation jean monnet pour l ’ europe, lausanne, 4 may 2017, ( https : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / press / key / date / 2017 / html / ecb. sp170504. it. html ). ‘ l ’ esaltante avventura dell ’ euro ’, in scritti nella nuova antologia, vol. 1, pp. 182 - 183. ‘ il governo dell ’ economia in italia e in europa ’, in scritti nella nuova antologia, vol. 1, p. 148. 16. in one of the essays in the nuova antologia, ciampi recalls the first, crucial step in this direction in a conversation with giovanni spadolini, who on 15 june 1981 – as the newly - appointed president of the council of ministers – asked the governor to ‘ describe the economic situation to him as clearly as possible ’. ‘ this i did ’ – ciampi recalls – ‘ by largely repeating what i had said two weeks earlier on 30 may at the bank of italy ’ s annual meeting of shareholders, in the governor ’ s traditional ‘ concluding remarks ’. the situation was complicated. driven by the second oil shock, annual inflation had risen above 20 per cent [

several countries undertook trade - defensive measures, in particular imposing discriminatory anti - dumping duties specifically targeted against low - cost exporters, such as china. in a number of cases, developing countries have also introduced new tariff and non - tariff barriers ; advanced countries have instead often turned to measures in support of the domestic sector ( such as the bail - out of specific domestic industries or economic stimulus packages incorporating discriminatory clauses ), with potential indirect anti - trade effects. more importantly, lack of effective political support has continued to delay the conclusion of the wto doha round. protectionism remains the wrong answer, all the more at the present juncture. trade is a powerful engine of growth. it helps break down local monopolies, reduce prices to the benefit of consumers and firms. international competition favours productivity improvements through the reallocation of resources from less to more efficient firms and by spurring firms to innovate. this takes us to the second keyword of the efige project : competitiveness. in a monetary union the lack of competitiveness causes stagnation, unemployment, and, in the long run, budgetary strains. the new european strategy, “ eu2020 ”, sees in competition, human capital, innovation and r & d the crucial growth - enhancing factors. these factors also interact with firm productivity and size to determine a firm ’ s success on international markets. in the manufacturing sectors more severely hit by the crisis, the most resilient firms have been those that have been capable of shifting their sales to the most dynamic emerging markets, and those with a high degree of market power warranted by their ability to innovate and satisfy their customers ’ needs. the efige project has a third important facet which is worth mentioning : its european perspective. in europe, common cultural and historical roots, common goals and policy frameworks live together with a pervasive national heterogeneity. the diversity ranges from institutional architectures to political decision - making, to economic agents ’ choices and patterns of behaviour. for analysts, this is a resource : they can compare countries and firms located in different countries to isolate the relevant differences, to learn from such differences, to identify the best practices. for policy makers it is a difficult challenge. we must reinforce the construction of europe : the difficult times some european countries have had this year in coping with competitiveness and fiscal crises prove that beyond any doubt. we definitely need a stricter and more coordinated