One of the best explanations of the issues of Southern Europe, and Italy in specific, that I read about during my studies, can be found in the book “The Moral B

One of the best explanations of the issues of Southern Europe, and Italy in specific, that I read about during my studies, can be found in the book “The Moral Basis of a Backward Society” (Banfield). It describes a village in southern Italy in which inhabitants are unwilling to contribute anything that does not immediately and directly benefit their own family. For example, they are unwilling to build a road to the next town, even given the large benefits the village overall would gain, because “only fools would do so” (paraphrasing here). Seen with a game theoretic lens, and extending beyond Italy, it appears that there are low trust and high trust (or “social capital”) equilibria in societies, and it is especially difficult to go from the low trust to the high trust one. Secondly, these cultural norms and institutions (in a broad sense) are extremely persistent over time. Of course, this is only one aspect of a multifaceted problem, but I find it particularly enlightening.