Italian economic miracle

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Downtown Milan in the 1960s

The Italian economic miracle or Italian economic boom (Italian: il miracolo economico italiano or il boom economico italiano) is the term used by historians, economists, and the mass media[1] to designate the prolonged period of strong economic growth in Italy after World War II to the late 1960s, and in particular the years from 1958 to 1963.[2] This phase of Italian history represented not only a cornerstone in the economic and social development of the country—which was transformed from a poor, mainly rural, nation into a global industrial power—but also a period of momentous change in Italian society and culture.[3] As summed up by one historian, by the end of the 1970s, "social security coverage had been made comprehensive and relatively generous. The material standard of living had vastly improved for the great majority of the population."[4]

History

One of a number of posters created to promote the Marshall Plan in Europe

After the end of

European Common Market
, of which Italy was among the founder members, provided more investments and eased exports.

Lettera 22 typewriter by Olivetti

The above-mentioned highly favorable historical backgrounds, combined with the presence of a large and cheap stock of labour force, laid the foundations of a spectacular economic growth. The boom lasted almost uninterrupted until the "

OEEC countries only Japan had been doing better.[7] In 1963, US President John F. Kennedy personally praised Italy's extraordinary economic growth at an official dinner with Italian President Antonio Segni in Rome, stating that "the growth of [...] nation's economy, industry, and living standards in the postwar years has truly been phenomenal. A nation once literally in ruins, beset by heavy unemployment and inflation, has expanded its output and assets, stabilized its costs and currency, and created new jobs and new industries at a rate unmatched in the Western world".[8]

Society and culture

The Fiat 500, launched in 1957, is considered a symbol of Italy's economic miracle.[9]
Brionvega launched the first Italian-made television set in 1954, and the first European made portable TV in 1962.[10]
Dolce Vita
, the film that represented the hyperactive lifestyle of Italy in those years

The impact of the economic miracle on Italian society was huge. Fast economic expansion induced massive inflows of migrants from rural Southern Italy to the industrial cities of the North. Emigration was especially directed to the factories of the so-called "industrial triangle", the region placed between the major manufacturing centres of Milan and Turin and the seaport of Genoa. Between 1955 and 1971, around 9 million people are estimated to have been involved in inter-regional migrations in Italy, uprooting entire communities and creating large metropolitan areas.[11]

The needs of a modernizing economy and society created a great demand for new transport and energy infrastructures. Thousands of miles of railways and highways were completed in record times to connect the main urban areas, while dams and power plants were built all over Italy, often without regard for geological and environmental conditions. A concurrent boom of the real estate market, increasingly under pressure by strong demographic growth and internal migrations, led to the explosion of urban areas. Vast neighborhoods of low-income apartments and

social housing were built in the outskirts of many cities, leading over the years to severe problems of congestion, urban decay and street violence. The natural environment was constantly under strain by unregulated industrial expansion, leading to widespread air and water pollution and ecological disasters like the Vajont Dam disaster and the Seveso
chemical accident, until a green consciousness developed starting in the 1980s.

At the same time, the doubling of Italian GDP between 1950 and 1962

RAI
began a regular television service.

Criticism

Scene from the film Il Sorpasso by Dino Risi which prominently features a 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24 cabriolet (1962)

The pervasive influence of the

I Mostri (1963) by Dino Risi, Il Boom (1963) by Vittorio De Sica and C'eravamo tanto amati (1974) by Ettore Scola
all stigmatized selfishness and immorality that they believed characterized the miracle's roaring years.

See also

References

  1. ^ Life, November 24, 1967 (p.48)
  2. ISBN 0-521-49627-6
    .
  3. ISBN 978-0-253-21948-0
    .
  4. ^ Italy, a difficult democracy: a survey of Italian politics by Frederic Spotts and Theodor Wieser
  5. ISBN 0-521-37840-0
    .
  6. ISBN 0-521-49627-6
    .
  7. ISBN 3-11-012158-1
    .
  8. ^ Kennedy, John F. (July 1, 1963). Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. (eds.). "290 - Remarks at a Dinner Given in His Honor by President Segni". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  9. ^ Tagliabue, John (11 August 2007). "Italian Pride Is Revived in a Tiny Fiat". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  10. ^ Cappellieri, Alba. "Brionvega. A brief history of the black box". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  11. ISBN 1-4039-6153-0
    .
  12. ISBN 0521846633
    .
  13. ^ Poverty and Inequality in Common Market Countries edited by Victor George and Roger Lawson

Further reading

  • Nardozzi, Giangiacomo. "The Italian" Economic Miracle"." Rivista di storia economica (2003) 19#2 pp: 139-180, in English
  • Rota, Mauro. "Credit and growth: reconsidering Italian industrial policy during the Golden Age." European Review of Economic History (2013) 17#4 pp: 431–451.
  • Tolliday, Steven W. "Introduction: enterprise and state in the Italian'economic miracle'." Enterprise and Society (2000) 1#2 pp: 241–248.
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