Economics Matters by Laurence Kotlikoff Podcast Ignazio Visco, Former Governor of the Bank of Italy and Premier Economist Discusses Europe's Economic, Demographic, and Technological Challenges 22 1 5 1× 0:00 Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:02:19 -1:02:19 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Ignazio Visco, Former Governor of the Bank of Italy and Premier Economist Discusses Europe's Economic, Demographic, and Technological Challenges Larry Kotlikoff Aug 29, 2025 22 1 5 Share Transcript Ignazio Visco is a superb economist and central banker. He should be everyone's choice for the next President of the European Central Bank. Italy has a bad economic rap among those with a cursory knowledge of its fiscal condition and financial system. In fact, it's ranked as the most fiscally sustainable of all major EU countries and has one of the world's safest banking systems. The former is thanks to relatively small off-the-books pension, healthcare, and other off-the-books liabilities. The latter is largely due to Ignazio's 12-year leadership of the Italian Central Bank. Ignazio has had an amazing career (see his bio below). He received his PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, joined the Bank of Italy as a junior economist, quickly became Head of the Bank's Research Department, was named Chief Economist of the OECD, and then appointed Governor of the Bank of Italy. He has served on the boards of the ECB, the ESRB, the BIS, the FSB, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the InterAmerican Development Bank. There are few people on the planet with Ignazio wealth of international economic exposure, expertise, and knowledge. Please do listen/watch this episode of Economics Matters -- the Podcast. It's terrific. Ignazio Visco – Bio Ignazio Visco is currently Governor emeritus of the Bank of Italy and Corresponding Fellow of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. He served as Governor of the Bank of Italy from November 2011 to October 2023, reappointed in November 2017. In that capacity, he also served as Chairman of the Integrated Directorate of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS). As Governor of the Bank of Italy, he has also been a Member of the Governing Council and General Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), the General Council of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Steering Committee of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Boards of Governors of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Alternate Member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the InterAmerican Development Bank (IADB). In his capacity, he has participated in the G7 and G20 financial meetings. Ignazio Visco joined the Bank of Italy in 1972 and was appointed Head of the Research Department in 1990. From 1997 to 2002 he was Chief Economist and Director of the Economics Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Upon his return to the Bank of Italy, he was appointed, in 2004, Managing Director for Foreign Activities and, in March 2006, Managing Director for Economic Research. In 2007 he joined the Board of the Bank of Italy where he served, until October 2011, as Deputy Governor. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (1971), his Master of Arts (1974) and Ph.D. (1981) in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA). He has been visiting professor of econometrics and economic policy in the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and he received the Leontief Award for Best Dissertation in Quantitative Economics (Eastern Economic Association, 1982), the "Best in Class" Award, University of Rome "La Sapienza" (2006), honorary degrees by the Universities of Trieste (2015) and Naples (Federico II, 2016), and was appointed honorary emeritus professor by the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (2018). Ignazio Visco is the author of numerous publications, including the following books: “Price Expectations in Rising Inflation” (North Holland, 1984); “Saving and the Accumulation of Wealth” (edited with A. Ando and L. Guiso, Cambridge University Press, 1994); “L’economia italiana” (with L. F. Signorini, Il Mulino, 2002); “Ageing and Pension System Reform” (Report for the Group of Ten Alternates, Working Group Chair, 2005); “Investire in conoscenza” (Il Mulino, 2009,2014); “Perché I tempi stanno cambiando” (Il Mulino, 2015); “Anni difficili” (Il Mulino, 2018), “Inflazione e politica monetaria” (Laterza, 2023). Subscribe Share Share Economics Matters by Laurence Kotlikoff Max Out Your Social Security Check Out MaxiFi Planner Economic Matters - The podcast is hosted by Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University Economist, a NY Times Best Selling Author , President of maxifi.com , and Author of Money Magic . Stay Connected: Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Amazon Music Discussion about this episode Comments Restacks Economics Matters by Laurence Kotlikoff Podcast Economics can make a massive difference - collectively and personally. Listen in as we chat with some of the most influential leaders in economics across the globe. 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