In 2008 the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa (Italy) - in the context of the Institute for International Economics which has been active since 1947 - set up the Permanent Observatory on the Economies of the Mediterranean.
The Observatory was established in anticipation of the imminent creation of the Mediterranean free trade area, which has been given a strong boost by the last phase of the Barcelona Process. It was presented to firms and academics at a conference held on 21st November 2008 with the participation of the Italian Minister for Economic Development. With the contribution of a network of economists from different countries, the Observatory will carry out research directed mainly at providing firms and policy-makers with indications concerning prospects for the economy of the southern Mediterranean coast. The activity of the Observatory will occasionally extend also to other countries considered of interest due to the effects they can have on the economies of the Mediterranean or on the global economy.
This volume contains the proceedings of the conference and a first set of essays focusing on methodological and applicative aspects of country risk analysis, assessment of the short-term volatility of key macroeconomic variables and analyses of sustainability in the long term, which are also published in the journal International Economics, August 2009.