Conversations with Tyler Luigi Zingales on Italy, Google and Conglomeration, and Donald Trump (Live at Mason)
8 snips
Sep 16, 2015 
Luigi Zingales, an Italian economist at Chicago Booth and critic of crony capitalism, ranges from Italy’s stalled growth and family firms to Google’s conglomerate logic and Trump’s resemblance to Berlusconi. He also gets into Gramsci, Mediterranean identity, Italian cafés, The Leopard, and why appearances of change can hide entrenched power.
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Why Google Needed More Separation And Accountability
- Zingales thinks Alphabet-style separation helps reveal whether new bets are innovation or waste.
- He worries Google’s concentrated founder control looks more Italian than American, making it hard to replace leaders once they age or lose touch.
Tyler Cowen Reads Zingales Through Gramsci
- Tyler Cowen tells Zingales his work feels like Gramsci redone with economics, culture, and governance.
- Zingales embraces the reading, links it to Gramsci’s bloc historico, and says even Stigler’s regulatory capture borrowed from Marxist questions about power.
Why Elite Capture Runs Deeper Than Campaign Money
- Zingales says campaign finance reform matters, but capture works through subtler channels than donations alone.
- He praises Merkel as an effective German politician, loves Pope Francis as an anti-mafia reformer, and doubts religion is the main driver of economic underdevelopment.
