[shermantanktop]

This is like an American complaining that the burger they got in Bangkok doesn’t taste like a Big Mac.

Every country has their own setup and typically it reflects a set of tradeoffs. Outsiders see the downsides but then seem not to see the upsides, or treat those upsides as intrinsic (via the essentialist fallacy) rather than the consequence of tradeoffs. In this case, Italians tend to value social connectedness and fierce regional affiliation, which as a cultural force has great benefits even while it drives corruption.

I’m not downplaying Italy’s crappy economic performance. It sucks, especially for the young and for the credentialed elite. But Italy is (intentionally or not) perhaps running a different race than aiming for the top of the GDP ranking list.

[witherk]

I don't really think the differnce between an economy that grows by 2% a year and economy that is consitently getting poorer, is analogous to a difference in taste.

[gmerc]

Well you can listen to all the western economists decrying Japan based on economic values or you could take a trip and see the factors that GDP does not reflect.

Wealth inequality is not reflected in GDP Quality is not reflected in GDP Consumer protection is negative influence on GDP as is, in the short and mid term that is measured, almost any other intervention like Environmental protection.

GDP is shit.