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Abstract/Index

The protection of savings and the protection of savers – two sides of the same coin – are treated on the theoretical and on the practical plane. The best means for protecting savings and savers lies in the proper functioning of the market, thus overcoming the costs of the regulation that is called for in the name of the market itself. The question is not whether legislation should provide for the protection of savings, but what kind of law can achieve this objective without imposing excessive costs on economic activity and thus slowing growth. A brief historical survey of regulatory choices in Italy to protect savings and savers is followed by an assessment of the state of savings in Italy and its distribution, based on the national financial accounts. Avoiding both a “market fundamentalism” that discards the role of legislation and a “regulatory fundamentalism” that imposes ever more restrictive rules, the author suggests that the solution, taking account of the contemporary features of capitalism, should centre on the principle of responsibility, reduction in the costs and the illusions created by the legal system, and the need not to restrict the allocation of savings to riskless forms only, which keep resources away from innovative investment. The author examines Italy’s 2005 Law for the Protection of Saving and the impact of its more stringent provisions and then appraises how far the 1993 Banking Law answers the need for the protection of savers and savings and for channelling resources to finance economic growth. The conclusion is that the shift of responsibility for the protection of savings from regulators to savers themselves would give rise to a true market, reversing the tendency of the State to institute increasingly strong forms of protection, as in the legislation discussed.

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• Tutela del risparmio, tutela dei risparmiatori e finanziamento dello sviluppo: un difficile ma necessario equilibrio. (deposited 23 Nov 2009 15:20)
  • Protection of savings, protection of savers and development financing: an elusive but indispensable balance. (deposited 25 Nov 2009 15:01) [Currently Displayed]