Abstract
Autore:
Doria Marco
Titolo:
"Impresa pubblica e politiche industriali negli anni della ricostruzione"
In the post war years, like
in other European countries, economic planning
and nationalizations had a central role
in the Italian political discussion. The debate
was heavily influenced by the prominence of
the extreme left wing parties and by the fear
they provoked in the economic establishment,
however the approach of the Communist party
was quite pragmatic and moderate and its first
goal was to contribute to the reconstruction
of the country and of the factories, which had
suffered heavy damages during the war.
The debate on the possibilities of planning
was often ideological, even if several
plans aimed to guarantee a better supply of
raw materials and semi-processed goods
were prepared. At an higher and more ideal
level the new Constitution referred in some
articles to a “mixed” economic system, pointed
out the active role of the State in pursuing
“general interests”, but avoided to mention
explicitly economic planning.
Compared with the main western
European countries few nationalizations
of firms happened, because the presence
of State-owned companies had been very
large in Italy since the Thirties. Therefore
their role was dominant in steel and engineering
industry (iri), and relevant in the
mineral oil research and processing (AGIP).
State interventions to financially subsidize
companies involved in the complex transition
from war productions to peace productions
and the managing of social and
political tensions, which were more acute
for the high level of unemployment, were
sometimes accompanied by the definitions
of industrial policies in particular sectors.
We can see it clearly especially by looking
at the experiences of steel and oil industry,
where State-owned firms played a major
role laying some of the basic foundations
of the following economic growth of the
Fifties and Sixties.
