ABSTRACT
T he end o f the Second W orld W ar m arked a radical tu rn aro u n d o f the Italian econom y. T he inward-looking, autarkic policies followed in the 1930s were ab an d o n ed and the econom y was o pened up to the process o f in tegration into E urope and to the intense adop tion o f A m erican technology and m anagem ent principles. R econstruction was achieved swiftly and Marshall Aid was used to ex pand industry, especially in its m odern branches. T he legacy o f the past p u t Italy in a ra th e r low position com pared to o th er E uropean econom ies, bu t the ‘social capabilities’1 on which to base a process o f catching up with the m ost advanced leaders were no t missing: well established, though still too small, firms in the crucial fields; w idespread basic education, with flourishing technical and com m ercial secondary and h igher level institutions; a high propensity to invest; a governm ent willing to support industrialization. A period o f sustained econom ic growth started at the end o f the 1940s, driving Italy th rough a p ro found struc tural change into the club o f the wealthiest countries in E urope.
