Written by Kacper Brzezniak
As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgrades the global growth outlook YET again (which is becoming a recurring theme, as we discussed here a year ago), we turn our eyes to Italy's current economic disaster. Italy has recorded exceptionally weak growth in recent years, but in order to get a better understanding of the country's prosperity, we look at GDP per capita: Italy's has fallen by 10% from 2005 to 2015, leaving it at the same level as it was in around 1996. Declining growth rates in GDP per capita are found in many economies, especially in Europe, but Italy certainly stands out.
The chart above shows the percentage change over a decade in real GDP per capita in Italy from 1970 to 2015. During this period, employment and real wages have declined significantly, with almost 39% of Italy's young generation being unemployed and willing to leave the country in search for better opportunities.
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