Key areas of the economy Flashcards
What were the five key areas of the economy?
1) Agriculture
2) Industry
3) Transport
4) Trade
5) Taxation
Agriculture: did the govt intervene?
Yes, considerably, but apart from a shift to wheat production, F policies failed to tackle basic problems like poverty and the backwardness of S agriculture.
Agriculture: what did the Govt rhetoric stress?
the importance of peasantry and the rural life (bfG and BfM)
Idealised the virtuous life of the peasantry in comparison to the decadent life of the cities.
Agriculture: What was BM’s ruralisation campaign designed to do?
-reverse the drift to the cities.
By restricting migration and investing funds to help establish a prosperous landowning peasantry.
HOWEVER, life in the countryside remained hard and the flight from the countryside CONTINUED.
Agriculture: how did the govt help?
1) Tariffs (1926 on imported grain)
2) Grants for fertilisers and machinery
3) Spreading scientific knowledge
Agriculture: how many fled from the countryside to the city?
1.5M
Agriculture: the South
- Govt’s close ties to latifundi restricted major agrarian reform
- yields remained LOW
- 20% drop in cattle and sheep farming
Agriculture: The depression led to a cut in agricultural workers’ wages- by how much?
20-40%
Agriculture: the N
Considerable advances in yields, 50% more wheat per acre.
BUT some small farmers hit by world slump in food prices.
Industry: did industry benefit from govt policies?
Most of industry did.
The growth of CARTELS and large firms continued.
Industry: which industries flourished during F?
newer industries such as chemicals and synthetic fibres
Industry: major firms
- FIAT (cars)
- Montecatini (chemicals)
- Pirelli (rubber)
- ILVA (steel)
Industry: what was govt assistance more geared towards?
preserving existing structure than encouraging efficient reorganisation
Industry: growing govt intervention began when?
From 1929, especially 1933 (IRI)
Transport: Was there progress?
Only in prestige projects, not necessarily the most economically vital projects.
E.g. autostrada and railways but many local roads in agricultural areas were left untouched
Transport: How many km of railway were electrified?
5000
Transport: New autostradas opened
- Milan to the lakes, Rome to the sea
- Few Italians owned cars
- S neglected
Transport: Railways
- ran on time; illustrated F efficiency?
- Increasingly electrified; over 50% of traffic
Trade: is it important?
YES, for a country lacking many basic resources.
HOWEVER, BM sought autarky.
Trade: what increasingly affected the direction and nature of Italian trade in the 1930s?
FP entanglements
Trade: where did exports shift to from 1936?
From W. Europe to Germany
Trade: govt agencies to control trade
1934: Institute of Foreign Exchange
1937: Ministry of Currency Exchange
Trade: Imports
- Unintentionally encouraged by lira overvaluation (1927-36): GOES AGAINST AUTARKY
- controlled by quotas from 1935
- attempts to restrict imports in order to establish autarky
- loss of gold currency to pay for imports
Trade: frequent…
Balance of payment problems
Trade: Sanctions
Abyssinia (1935-36)
excluded oil
Taxation: 1920s
wealthy: taxes reduced to stimulate investment
masses: INDIRECT taxes raised
Taxation: 1930s
Wealthy: TAXES RAISED
Elite support for regime declined
Masses: still high taxes.
1935 National Prices Committee to control prices. Inflation controlled until 1943
Taxation- when were taxes raised and by how much?
1934
Direct taxes 40%
Indirect taxes 60%
Taxation: What was established in 1935 to control prices?
National Prices Committee.
Inflation controlled until 1943
Taxation: what were the 1934 tax increases used for?
GOVT EXPENDITURE:
- state bureaucracy (thanks to CS)
- prestige projects
- help to industry
- public works
- welfare measures
- armaments, wars
Trade: US loans?
1924-29
