It’s not the most original of behaviours for a visitor just returned from Italy to trill arias of enthusiasm for the lifestyle of the peninsula. However, what struck me, despite my friend (who actually lives there) confirming the stories that the economy is in the pits, was the seeming unshakeable prosperity of the place. Of course, Bologna is probably one the richest cities in Europe, never mind Italy. But then again, Dublin is also supposed to be one of the most affluent metropolises in the EU, yet it can’t help but seem somewhat shabby in comparison.But as another friend concisely observed, we were basically peasants in Ireland until the last ten years. There is no legacy of centuries of affluence to draw upon or admire at this chill latitude. But even in the present day, there still feels like a there’s a gap in the day-to-day matter of commerce. Because if you gaze into the upmarket shop windows of any Italian city, you’re likely to see many of the same things you would if you were to do the same outside similar establishments in Dublin, London, or New York: Italian products. Regardless of the enduring stereotypes, Italy is one of the great manufacturers and exporters. This can be seen in the hinterland of the medieval cities of the north: hundreds of hectares of co-ops, plants, and factories hedging the Autostrade.Now the point of what I’m kind of getting at is to question whether the value of the earnings generated by companies in Italy that actually make something are worth more in some socially beneficial way than those of companies that peddle nebulous services (like so many in Ireland, Britain, and the United States*)? An economist would dismiss out of hand such a tentative query: a euro earned is a euro earned, whether it was made from banking or selling shoes. Yet doesn’t it feel to the consumer that the realm of making and selling actual things is much less of a zero-sum game than the intangible world of offering and using services? A consumer can choose whether to buy a new jacket or motorbike–there’s an upfront, one-off exchange of cash for a concrete reward. With services, there is often an element of obligation (how many of us ever want to see a lawyer?). And the pricing and the level of service seem impossible to envision or quantify. The former scenario is a win-win situation for both seller and buyer. The latter one looks like a win-lose outcome, with the buyer coming off worse.The network of financial outfits, law firms, and consultancies that occupy the commanding heights of the Irish economy are clearly raking it in. But do any of their customers like them in the slightest? (Their brands, although ubiquitous, certainly don’t attract the same sort of covetousness as say, Gucci or Bugatti would.) And though their profits bolster the nation’s GDP, GNP, and PPP, isn’t there the widespread feeling that their activities add almost nothing to the real prosperity of its people? *A recent article in Business Week discussed how major non-financial companies are increasingly relying on their financing divisions to bolster profits. For example, almost 49% of the earnings of General Electric, a symbol of U.S. manufacturing, derived from its finance and insurance units. This makes it unclear how the American trade deficit will ever decline, regardless of how low the dollar goes: It’s a lot harder to export mortgages than jet engines.