ABSTRACT
In judging Italian social and economic policies after unification, historians frequently fail to emphasize the difficulties of creating a unified state. Generally, with industrialization the birth rate decreases as living conditions improve and emigration declines, but in Italy neither occurred. The lopsided nature of the country's industrialization, which took place only in the Northwest, explains this difference. To the south, around Bologna, the Emilean marshes were being drained and the capitalistic transformation of the land had begun, poising the region for a rapid economic development. The dualistic nature of Italian society and its economy can be explained by the complex interaction of history, the international agricultural crisis of 1880 to 1895, and government policies. The southern bourgeoisie profited by acting as recruiting agents for the steamship lines that transported emigrants to the United States under appalling conditions.
