Reflections on the Olivetti Papers

Editor's Note: Professor Salvemini, professor of economics at the University of Bari and advisor to the Italian Minister of the Treasury, attended the Olivetti Conference on Budgetary problems in the fall of 1981. Papers from the conference were published in the Autumn 1982 issue of this journal. After reviewing both the conference proceedings and the papers published in Public Budgeting & Finance , Professor Salvemini has provided some further reflections and thoughts on the ideas presented at that conference.     

Reflections on the European elections

The European elections campaign and the results were the subject of much instant analysis, which at the time reflected the immediate impact of the event. Our concern here will be to examine how far these impressions now seem correct. Of course, at this very early stage in the first legislature, it can only be a provisional analysis. Even so, some modification of the more extreme initial reactions would appear to be required.     

Shia militias in Iraq

Shia militias, some backed by Iran, are now playing an essential role in ejecting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from Iraq. There remain stiff challenges associated with the militias’ post-ISIS integration into the regular Iraqi security forces and potential availability for other more destabilising Iranian missions. Reining in the Iran-supported militias will be especially difficult.