With an overall score of 9.98/12 Italy is at standard on the economic, legal, and political indicators that make up our Business Index. Italy is a diverse and industrial-based economy, which has the seventh largest economy worldwide and the fourth largest in the EU zone. The highest GDP growth since 2000 was recorded in 2006 at 1.9 percent. Due to recent market uncertainties and global economic conditions, Italy's economy is expected to slow down in 2008. The government of Italy offers incentives to encourage private sector investment in economically depressed regions, particularly southern Italy. Resident and non-resident investors are generally treated the same way, with some restrictions for various industries. Property rights in Italy are protected and contracts are binding, however, enforcement of intellectual property rights falls below the standards of other developed Western European countries. Although the judiciary system is sound, the procedures around it can be exceedingly slow which often times leads entities to settle commercial disputes out of court. Italy has had frequent government turnovers and the latest one occurred in early 2008 when Prime Minister Romano Prodi lost the support of one of the coalition partners and Silvio Berlusconi won the elections to come back to his previously held position in the Italian government. Italy ranks 41st out of 180 countries in the Transparency International's 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index. Despite this improved score from previous years, corruption remains a serious problem in Italy, particularly in the South.