Abstract

The article investigates the current global crisis and provides some insights on possible future scenarios for the Italian industry. From recent Reports on the national production system, developed by Prometeia with Intesa-San Paolo and the Bank of Italy, it emerges a complex framework in which we can distinguish typical market failures and in which the microeconomic dimension of the public intervention in the economy should be re-established. Major crises, like the current one, allow to realise again what is the potential and, foremost, the necessity of industrial policy measures turned to restore existing failures in unregulated markets. The author concludes by focusing on the automotive market, an EU fundamental sector that needs massive public support, and suggests a common "model of action" to be adopted at EU level.