ABSTRACT
From the end of 1945 to 1950 there were in Italy five coalition governments, all led by Alcide De Gasperi, leader of the main party, the Christian Democratic Party (DC). The year 1947 was a major turning-point in economic policy. The revulsion against fascism as a political system spilled over into a rejection of fascist economic policy which included protectionism-widely regarded as its principal pillar. The concept of 'dualism' is used in different ways by various specialists of economic development. Historically, there are three kinds of dualism in Italy: Regional dualism, Industrial dualism, Dualism in the labour market. Italian economic decision-makers favoured economic growth based on low wages and sustained exports. The neo-liberals in control of economic decision-making had already decided that the European Recovery Programme (ERP) money had to have a currency-stabilizing function. Priority had been given to anti-inflation policies because inflation was causing the constant depreciation of the Italian currency.
