Italy's restrictions on firing employee's are so bad that a bank was prevented from firing a money launderer and it are so entrenched that recent attempts to reform the system have led to the assasination of the reformers. See Alan Krueger's piece
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/27/business/27SCEN.html which I was alerted to by Kausfiles who has some other links, see entry for Friday July 5 here http://slate.msn.com/?id=2067592 Alex -- Dr. Alexander Tabarrok Vice President and Director of Research The Independent Institute 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA, 94621-1428 Tel. 510-632-1366, FAX: 510-568-6040 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]