Don’t Blame German Carmakers for Italy’s Industry Woes

(Bloomberg) -- Italy’s economy shrank in the third quarter and industrial production plunged in November. It’s tempting to blame this on the travails of Germany’s auto industry, but Bloomberg Economics’ supply-chain analysis shows that the of goods produced in Italy to meet demand from German carmakers is too small to explain the weakness. A lot may have had to do with political uncertainty, which had a fallout on hiring and investment.

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