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Ranking for the G8 nations: 4 - United States 5 - United Kingdom 8 - Canada 15 - Japan 25 - Germany 31 - France 78 - Italy 120 - Russia With the except

Ranking for the G8 nations: 4 - United States 5 - United Kingdom 8 - Canada 15 - Japan 25 - Germany 31 - France 78 - Italy 120 - Russia With the exception of Russia, which has its roots in communism, Italy is by far the worst G8 country you could start a business in.

rospaya 16y ago
This (again) makes me wonder what Italy is doing in G8. Let's give China or Spain a shot.
- mahmud 16y ago
  Spain? The "S" in PIIGS? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_%28economics%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_%28economics%29
  - borism 16y ago
    Italy? The "I" in PIIGS?
    - mahmud 16y ago
      It doesn't follow from what's written that either of us, the parent and me, advocated for Italy's presence in the G8. So ..
- jbarciauskas 16y ago
  I say this not out of any great personal insight but because it was featured on NPR recently: Let's give China or <strike>Spain</strike>Brazil a shot NPR story: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/04/130329523/how-fake-money-saved-brazil http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/04/130329523/how-fake...
apotheon 16y ago
Italy and Germany have their (recent) roots in fascism. France has its in . . . well. I'm not going to go there. Note that the UK produced Adam Smith and, to a nontrivial degree, the US, and Canada. The culture and early government of the US in particular was notably influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith as well. What Smith called "economic individualism" is pretty much the foundation of a strong economy, and to the extent that we stray from that two things happen: 1. individuals find it more difficult to start and run small businesses 2. the economy suffers I am not surprised at all at the relative rankings of these G8 nations.
- eru 16y ago
  Indeed. Though Italy and Germany and to some extents Japan had some experience with fascism. The current constitution of Germany was heavily influenced by American demands (and the Japanese constitution, too). You could say that Germany had a strong history of social-monarchy, and then social-democracy. (With some fascism in a 12 year year period and 40 years of socialism in the east.)
- davidw 16y ago
  I am not sure "fascism" is the common bond. Slow, bureaucratic procedures with relatively high capital requirements seem to be the norm in continental Europe, with countries moving away from that model at different speeds.
- loewenskind 16y ago
  The common connection between companies that don't do so well is corruption, not previous government choices. As far as following Adam Smith's works, the economy the US has is a caricature of Smith's ideas (e.g. Smith was anti-monopoly).
  - apotheon 16y ago
    1. Do you think that the form of a government does not affect its tendency toward corruption? 2. Note that I was talking about Smith's influence on early US government. The nation has obviously strayed from that quite a lot since then -- and has economically gone downhill quite a lot, as well.
davidw 16y ago
This is a small initiative I am promoting with the aim of improving the situation in Italy: http://www.srlfacile.org http://www.srlfacile.org On the off chance that any Italian HN readers haven't seen it yet.

rospaya 16y ago

This (again) makes me wonder what Italy is doing in G8. Let's give China or Spain a shot.

mahmud 16y ago
Spain? The "S" in PIIGS? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_%28economics%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIGS_%28economics%29
- borism 16y ago
  Italy? The "I" in PIIGS?
  - mahmud 16y ago
    It doesn't follow from what's written that either of us, the parent and me, advocated for Italy's presence in the G8. So ..
jbarciauskas 16y ago
I say this not out of any great personal insight but because it was featured on NPR recently: Let's give China or <strike>Spain</strike>Brazil a shot NPR story: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/04/130329523/how-fake-money-saved-brazil http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/04/130329523/how-fake...

apotheon 16y ago

Italy and Germany have their (recent) roots in fascism. France has its in . . . well. I'm not going to go there. Note that the UK produced Adam Smith and, to a nontrivial degree, the US, and Canada. The culture and early government of the US in particular was notably influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith as well. What Smith called "economic individualism" is pretty much the foundation of a strong economy, and to the extent that we stray from that two things happen: 1. individuals find it more difficult to start and run small businesses 2. the economy suffers I am not surprised at all at the relative rankings of these G8 nations.

eru 16y ago
Indeed. Though Italy and Germany and to some extents Japan had some experience with fascism. The current constitution of Germany was heavily influenced by American demands (and the Japanese constitution, too). You could say that Germany had a strong history of social-monarchy, and then social-democracy. (With some fascism in a 12 year year period and 40 years of socialism in the east.)
davidw 16y ago
I am not sure "fascism" is the common bond. Slow, bureaucratic procedures with relatively high capital requirements seem to be the norm in continental Europe, with countries moving away from that model at different speeds.
loewenskind 16y ago
The common connection between companies that don't do so well is corruption, not previous government choices. As far as following Adam Smith's works, the economy the US has is a caricature of Smith's ideas (e.g. Smith was anti-monopoly).
- apotheon 16y ago
  1. Do you think that the form of a government does not affect its tendency toward corruption? 2. Note that I was talking about Smith's influence on early US government. The nation has obviously strayed from that quite a lot since then -- and has economically gone downhill quite a lot, as well.

davidw 16y ago

This is a small initiative I am promoting with the aim of improving the situation in Italy: http://www.srlfacile.org http://www.srlfacile.org On the off chance that any Italian HN readers haven't seen it yet.