ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses Italy’s external constraint vis-à-vis the changing structure of global production and trade relations, accounting also for the role therein of institutions and technology. We assume that structural heterogeneities and asymmetric power relationships are key drivers of the international performance of nations, industries and firms; they also play a role in explaining differences (and evolutionary patterns) in terms of the nature, extent and effectiveness of national economic policies. Adopting a “history-friendly” perspective, our analysis highlights how changes in policy scenarios at the national level are inextricably linked with changing trends in global capitalistic relations. We thus explore the evolving Italian policy landscape during three major historical periods or phases: (a) the post-WWII “golden age”; (b) the structural crisis of the 1970s; and (c) the nearly two decades of Euro membership. In this context, the EMU build-up and its consequences in economic and policy terms can be interpreted (at least partly) as the outcome of a long journey made up of key turning points and continuous feedback between the national and the international spheres.
