MARIO BALDASSARRI is Professor of Economics at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy, and was appointed Vice-Minister for Economy and Finance for the Italian Government from June 2001 to May 2006. In April 2006 he was elected Senator. He is the author of numerous books and publications on a wide range of economic issues, including the role of government budgets on economic growth and social distribution of income, industrial policy, the labour market and employment. In recent years he has focused on the problem of lack of growth in the European economy, and lack of equilibrium in the world economy.PASQUALE CAPRETTA is Senior Economist in the Economic Research Department of Confindustria (the Association of Italian Industries), Italy, where he is responsible for econometric modelling and forecasting. He was Associate Economist at Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates, where he worked on the WEFA-World Model. He is author of several articles on international economics, exchange rates and the effects of raw material prices on growth and inflation.