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

it is next to impossible to make predictions. consumer inflation, pushed by its more volatile components, reached 9. 5 per cent yearon - year in september, a figure not seen in more than three decades. the general index mainly reflects the direct and indirect effects of energy prices, as well as the increase of food prices. energy prices kept increasing, by 45 per cent year - on - year. even core inflation, however, reached 4. 4 per cent, owing to the acceleration of both services and non - energy industrial goods. 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches inflation expectations for 2023 and beyond vary depending on sources and methods used to measure them, but have been on the increase. according to the september wave of consensus economics, inflation projections for italy in 2023 stood on average at around 4. 3 per cent, more than one point higher than the in previous month's estimates. our own inflation scenarios will be unveiled on 13 october, together with the growth scenarios. despite these developments, in august contractual wage growth was broadly stable, at 1. 0 per cent year - on - year in the non - agricultural private sector. looking ahead, forceful action to reduce inflation is essential to preserve the purchasing power of households and avoid'pointless wage - price spirals'1. price stability is the lodestar of central banks. central banks all over the world have started a normalisation of monetary policy. many governments in europe have adopted measures to mitigate the immediate impact of exceptionally high increases in energy prices on household and firm balance sheets. while it makes sense to smooth temporary peaks, it is important to remember that energy prices had to go up to achieve our stated long - term goal of climate transition ; the current turbulence makes that goal even more vital. relative price signals should, by and large, be preserved, also to help balance demand and supply in the current circumstances. better to concentrate the limited public - budget resources available on income relief for the most affected households, and on investment in renewables and energy efficiency. collectively, there is no escaping the'unavoidable tax'2 imposed on us by higher fossil fuel prices – except by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. keeping prices low through debt - financed subsidies is illusory in the long run, and would shift the financial and environmental burden once again to the next generations, which will inherit from us a heavy enough burden anyway. financial developments since the end of july, there has been a marked deterioration in