ABSTRACT
In this chapter I suggest the idea that a return to the model of a dual economy may help economists and economic historians to a clearer understanding of the growth of the Italian economy in the first 50 years after the country’s political unification (1861) and the role played by migrations. I begin by reviewing the dual model and then present essential data to check its interpretative relevance. The data collection has been greatly assisted by the recent availability of data provided in the books by Fenoaltea (2011) and Toniolo (2013).
