Reframing Italian Economic History, 1861–2021

“This book captures the essence of the Italian history since unification, evaluates successes and failures of Italian economy, will likely influence public debate on Italian politics and deserves a place of honour in the discourse on the role of Italy in the European Union.” – Sabino Cassese, Justice Emeritus of the Italian Constitutional Court and former Minister for Public Administration, "In this hugely important study, Nicola Rossi describes the contrast between the behaviour of the Italian economy and society in the epoch of the 'economic miracle,' the years which came before and those which followed. A must read." – Edmund Phelps, 2006 Nobel Laureate “Nicola Rossi rereads the history of Italian economic development on the basis of an unusually rich set of elementary data. However controversial his findings may be, this attempt to identify the deep-seated factors that have limited innovation and creative destruction leads to a must-read for economic historians (not only Italian) and policy makers.” – Ignazio Visco, Governor Emeritus of the Bank of Italy This book surveys the development of the Italian economy since unification (1861), integrating economic analysis with an economic and social history of Italian society. The book challenges several key assumptions about the growth of the Italian economy, arguing that in long-run perspective the Italian economy has performed disappointingly. In particular, the book highlights the role of cultural values, beliefs and preferences in explaining this performance. In this perspective, Italy’s ‘economic miracle’ (1947-1964) represent a brief season of grassroots innovation à la Phelps marked by creative destruction and allowing Italy to become, temporarily, a leading Western economy. This book will be a fascinating read for scholars of economics and economic history, as well as non-specialist readers looking for a comprehensive understanding of Italian socio-economic conditions since the country's unification. Nicola Rossi is a former full professor of economics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Throughout his career he has moved back and forth from the academic world to employment at economic institutions and the realm of politics.