Mussolini and the Economy Flashcards
What were Mussolini’s main aims with the Economy?
- He wanted to gain big business support to consolidate his power between 1922-25
- Privatising industry to achieve Autarky, e.g telephone industry
- laissez-faire approach, minimal gov interference with economy
What is Protectionism?
- A policy of shielding countries domestic industries from foreign competition
- Agricultural farmers did not like this as it cut their income
Who was appointed Minister of Finance at first and why?
- Alberto De’Stefani
- A Conservative who was also Pro-Business
Did Protectionism affect all industries?
No
- Exports of goods such as cars and textiles doubled in 1922-25
Why was De’Stefani replaced and why?
1925 - Volpi
- Poor Harvest in 1924 led to lira going down in value and spiking inflation
What was the Corporate State?
- A third way between Capitalism and Communism
- Workers, Employers and Fascist Officials would discuss industrial relations and productivity problems
How many Corporations would the Corporate State accumulate by 1934?
22 mixed corporations
What was the Palazzo Vidoni Pact and when was it signed?
2nd October 1925
- Only Confindustria and Fascist Trade Unions were allowed to negotiate problems and issues on behalf of everyone
What happened to non-Fascist Trade Unions?
- They were dissolved after 1926
What was Syndicalism and who was a notable Syndicalist?
- A movement for ownership and means of production and distribution to be handed to the workers
- Edmondo Rossoni
How were Syndicalists and TU’s dealt with?
- 1928, TU’s broken down into 6 smaller federations
- Edmondo Rossoni’s followers were also removed
What was the Ministry of Corporations?
Set up in 1926
- Was meant to oversee labour relations
- Giuseppe Bottai was the Minister of Corporations from 1929-32
What did the Rocco Law do and when was it signed?
April 1926
- Banned Lockouts and Strikes
- Teachers, Police and Civil Servants banned from TU’s
What was the Charter of Labour and when was it signed?
1927
- Ensured workers rights
- To allow workers to change working hours
- To negotiate terms with employers
Why did the Charter of Labour have no real effect?
- Employers retained right to change working hours without lengthy consultations
- They were not obliged to give annual holidays
What did the workers gain after the Charter of Labour?
- Sick pay for workers
- 1938, Paid National Holiday
- Industrialists retained right to maintain non-Fascists organisations
What was the misrepresentation issue within the corporate state?
- EMPLOYERS chose who represented the Employers
- Fascists (Minister of Corporations) appointed who represented workers
- Anything put forward had to be approved by National Council of Corporations
- Central Corporative Committee 1935
What was the Battle for Grain and when was it started?
July 1925
- ‘Liberate Italy from the slavery of foreign bread’
- Wanted a self-sufficient Italy who made its own wheat and cereal
What did the Battle for Grain achieve?
- Wheat Production increased by 50%
- Large farms in the Po Valley encouraged mechanisation and production
- High tariffs on imports to prevent Italy importing
What were the failures of the Battle for Grain?
- Families had to pay 400 extra a year cause of price surge
- Lots of importation of olives, fruits and vegetables from Spain
- 1933, 500 million tonnes imported
- Livestock decreased by 500,000 due to misuse of land
- In terms of grain it was a success but everything else it was an overall failure
What was the Battle for Lira?
- Lots of post war inflation had devalued the Lira, in 1922 £1 was 138 Lira
- Mussolini wanted a stronger Lira for independence, especially from the USA (Autarky)
- 1927, Quota Novanta, Mussolini wanted £1 to be 90 Lira
What were the failures of the Battle for Lira?
- Exports took a hit, some big businesses could not cope
- Lots of cuts in wages, standard of living decreased with mergers between 1928 and 29
- Unemployment trebled between 1926-28
- Fiat and the textiles industry went into a depression
- Made Economy vulnerable to the 1929 depression
What were the partial successes of the Battle for Lira?
- Import heavy industries thrived
- Steel (Terri), Chemicals (Montecatini) and Shipping (Ansaldo) all saw cheaper imports as the gov did not place a tarrif on these (needed for war)
- From a propaganda perspective, this strengthening of the Lira made Mussolini seem more popular with the people
What was the Battle for Births?
May 1927
- M wanted to increase population from 40mil to 60mil by 1950
- More military strength
- Larger population to create more competition for jobs and keep wages and labour costs lower
- Wanted women to be the mothers of the Italian future and give birth to fascists
How did Mussolini try to boost the birth rate?
- Marriage Laws, a part of a loan would be cancelled after every child and 6 children would wipe the debt
- Married man with 6 children received greater career opportunities and less tax
- A bachelors tax was introduced
- Large families were given prizes, some by M himself
How were women discouraged from work to give birth, did this work?
- Womens wages were lowered to discourage them from working
- Quota system 1933 to limit 10% of the workforce to women
- Lower class women still worked to support family
- Middle class women worked for lower wages anyway
- Women were employed more as they were cheaper to employ
What were the failures of the Battle for Births?
- 2nd Highest proportion of married females in employment in the 30’s, making up 33% of workforce, a 3% decline since 1921
- Birth rate fell between 1911 and 1936 (147 to 112)
- Italian population ended up being only 47 million in 1950
- M claimed ‘lack of patriotic behaviour’ by not making babies, 15 potential army divisions lost
What was the Battle for Land?
1928
- He wanted to ruralise Italy this meant retrieving lost land for crops and ‘old-style’ life
- He also aimed to start infrastructure projects, irrigation schemes and housing
What law allowed for the reclaim of land under the Battle for Land?
Mussolini Law 1928
- Promised huge sums of money towards land reclamation projects
- Up until 1911 500,000 hectares of land had been reclaimed
What were some of the schemes under the Battle for Land?
- Bonfica Integrale - Land improvement
- ‘Empty the Cities’ movement to the rural parts of Italy
- 1922 Law to break up big estates and distribute them to peasants (later dropped)
What were some successes of the Battle for Land?
- Pontine Marshes, successfully drained and utilised, good bit of tourist attraction too as it was near Rome
- New towns of Predappio and Mussolinia, made him seem great to foreign influence
- Marshes being drained decreased Malaria by 50%
- Land reclamation projects provided employment during the depression
What were the failures of the Battle for Land?
- Too much pleasing of landowners
- 475 million hectares meant to be put under the scheme, only 58% reclaimed and 3 irrigation projects completed
- 1920 America stopped allowing Italians in (200k) this led to movement into cities, 1/2 mil left rural and Rome population 2x in 1920/30
- 1940, 90% of peasants owned 13% of land, richest 0.5% of population owned majority 40%
- 18th on European league table for calorie intake, lowest numbers in the South showing the divide
