ABSTRACT
The 'hot autumn' of 1969 is an historic date in the development of post-war Italian society. Any periodization would single out 1963-69 as the phase in which the crisis of the model of economic development which had led to the 'economic miracle' became manifest and irreversible. The hot autumn, however, was not only about wages. It occurred at a time when the whole of Italian society seemed to be in upheaval. The Italian economy entered this period of crisis with a political system which had relied for its stability on a constant economic growth. The increase in labour costs due to wage rises had caused an increase in prices. For the Bank of Italy, Italian prices were relatively inflexible because of the degree of international integration of the Italian economy. There was another option open: an incomes policy. There can only be two kinds of incomes policy: voluntary or statutory.
