Understanding the Global Success of Populist Leaders How can over 60 million Americans be willing to vote for Donald Trump—a figure widely seen as unfit to serve as President of the United States—in the upcoming November 5 election? What drives the success of populist leaders worldwide, even when history shows their governments often bring widespread hardship, undermine democratic institutions, and weaken protections for private property? In this issue of Eco, leading economists, political scientists, journalists, and public commentators share their perspectives, offering valuable comparisons between trends on both sides of the Atlantic.

A More Inclusive Education System to Prevent the Waste of Human Capital in Italy Italy is facing a tremendous waste of human capital. Hundreds of thousands of well-educated young people struggle to find jobs, and when they do, they often end up in roles that have little to do with the skills they spent years acquiring through their studies. This is a loss we can no longer afford. Each year, about 100,000 people leave our workforce. Four years ago, only one in twenty companies reported staffing shortages; today, nearly one in two can’t fill vacant positions. To address this waste, we need to start with early childhood education, improve the quality of schools by valuing teachers’ work, and establish vocational pathways in higher education. Unfortunately, we are missing the opportunity presented by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) to tackle these deep-rooted problems in Italy’s education system.

The exodus of doctors and nurses, the emergency room crisis, and the forgotten lesson of the pandemic People are living longer, but the inequality in aging is growing. There are increasing disparities in longevity and the chances of having a long, healthy life, influenced by income, occupation, and place of birth. Meanwhile, young people are facing rising levels of depression. Italy’s universal healthcare system faces significant challenges. During the pandemic, we received nearly 200 billion euros from Europe. It was expected that we would use these substantial resources to prepare for these challenges. Instead, emergency medicine is in a constant state of crisis, with shortages of doctors in many specialties and an even greater shortage of nurses. With the Recovery and Resilience National Plan, we have taken on an additional 123 billion euros of debt and have no more funds for healthcare. Despite this, there are still many improvements that can be made even with limited resources.