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The Rise and Fall of Fascism in Italy (c.1911-46) > Mussolini's Economic Policies > Flashcards

Mussolini's Economic Policies Flashcards

1
Q

What were 3 reasons why Mussolini was fortunate when he came to power?

A
  • Trade had begun to recover across Europe
  • Exports, such as of cars, were going up
  • Unemployment was declining
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2
Q

Why did Mussolini leave the economy alone until 1925?

A
  • He wanted to win the support of conservative elites
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3
Q

List 4 economic policies Mussolini supported between 1922 and 1925 in order to keep conservative elites on his side.

A
  • He abandoned the anti-capitalist ideas that fascists had held after WW1 and supported more traditional ideas
  • Free trade, which was a liberal idea
  • He supported laissez-faire economics
  • The appointment of Alberto de Stefani
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4
Q

List 5 focuses de Stefani had.

A
  • Tax cuts
  • Reducing government investment in the economy
  • Stimulating investment
  • Reducing public spending
  • Government money was used to help Ansaldo, a private steel and shipping firm
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5
Q

What effect did de Stefani’s policies have on the economy?

A
  • There was an industrial boom
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6
Q

What happened to de Stefani in 1925, and why?

A
  • He was replaced with Count Giuseppe Volpi
  • Volpi was pro-fascist, and this marked the beginning of a shift towards a state-ran economy
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7
Q

What was the main motivator behind Mussolini’s economic policy?

A
  • Autarky in preparation for war
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8
Q

List 3 policies Mussolini created in order to support autarky.

A
  • Battle for Grain
  • Battle for Births
  • Battle for the Lira
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9
Q

When was the ‘Battle for Grain’ announced, and what was its aim?

A
  • 1925
  • To make Italy self-sufficient in terms of grain production- to ‘liberate Italy from the slavery of foreign bread’ as claimed by Mussolini
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10
Q

List 3 ways the government encouraged farmers to produce more wheat.

A
  • Demanding targets were set
  • High tariffs were set on foreign imports
  • Grants were given to farmers so they could adopt modern farming techniques
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11
Q

What was a success of the Battle for Grain?

A
  • There was a 50% increase in wheat production, especially in the Po Valley in northern Italy
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12
Q

List 6 issues caused by and limitations of the Battle for Grain.

A
  • Animal fodder was more expensive, so there were 500,000 fewer livestock by the end of 1927
  • Meat and egg production declined, so imports of them increased
  • The production of valuable export crops like grapes, olives and fruit decreased
  • Prices therefore rose (families had to pay 400 lire extra in food costs annually) and the quality of the Italian diet declined
  • Italy was still dependent on imports of fertiliser for these high grain yields, which wouldn’t be possible during the war
  • In 1933, Italy was still importing 500 million tonnes of food
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13
Q

Which policy was announced in 1926?

A
  • Battle for the Lira
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14
Q

What were 2 reasons why Mussolini created the Battle for the Lira?

A
  • He thought a strong lira was a sign of a strong Italy
  • There was inflation, and Mussolini was afraid of an inflation crisis such as hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic
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15
Q

How had the value of the lira changed compared to the pound? What did Mussolini do?

A
  • 1922: £1= 90 lira
  • 1926: £1= 150 lira
  • In December 1927, Mussolini artificially fixed the lira at 92.46 to the British pound
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16
Q

List 8 impacts of the Battle for the Lira.

A
  • Volpi and other economists thought the valuation was too high and they had to introduce a range of deflationary measures
  • There were massive price reductions
  • Workers’ wages were cut, and fell more than prices
  • Export industries were badly affected, as Italian goods became more expensive abroad- the textiles industry went into depression, and unemployment tripled between 1926 and 1928
  • Savings banks closed down
  • Small businesses were taken over by bigger ones
  • Imports became cheaper, which benefitted the steel, chemical, rearmament and shipbuilding industries
  • Mussolini had to devalue the lira in 1936 by 40%
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17
Q

Which 3 policies were announced in 1927?

A
  • Battle for Births
  • Battle for Land
  • Ruralisation
18
Q

What were 4 reasons why Mussolini created the Battle for Births?

A
  • He believed Italy needed a bigger population and higher birth rate in order to become a global power
  • More men were needed to supply the army
  • More people were needed to govern and populate Italy’s empire
  • A larger population would create competition for employment, which would keep wages low
19
Q

What was the aim of the Battle for Births?

A
  • To increase the population from 40 million to 60 million by 1950
20
Q

Give 8 incentives created as part of the Battle for Births.

A
  • Loans were given to couples who got married, and for each child they had part of the loan was cancelled (after 6 children, it was completely cancelled)
  • A married man with six children did not have to pay tax
  • Medals were given to mothers with many children
  • All forms of birth control were banned
  • The government began to oppose the employment of women, and even cut their wages in 1927
  • Fathers of large families were given better career opportunities
  • Bachelors paid more tax
  • Bachelors weren’t given promotions
21
Q

How successful was the Battle for Births? Give 4 details.

A
  • The marriage rate fell
  • The birth rate was falling up until 1936
  • In 1936, women made up a third of the workforce, which was a decrease of only 3% (decreasing their wages encouraged employers to hire them)
  • During the Great Depression, married women were forced to work since their husbands’ wages had been cut (by the 1930s, Fascist Italy had the highest proportion of working married women in Europe)
22
Q

Why did Mussolini support ruralisation?

A
  • He believed urbanisation was a big cause of the falling birth rate
23
Q

What were 3 purposes of the Battle for Land?

A
  • To increase the amount of arable land
  • To fulfil the promise the fascists had made to give the small peasant farmers who had supported them land
  • To discourage urbanisation
24
Q

What were the 2 aims of the Battle for Land?

A
  • To reclaim 475 million hectares
  • To also build infrastructure in these areas, such as roads, houses and irrigation
25
Q

What were 3 aspects of the Battle for Land that were successful?

A
  • The Pontine Marshes were drained and made into small farms that were given to war veterans
  • Draining land reduced the number of cases of malaria by more than half
  • Unemployment was reduced as labourers were needed to reclaim the land
26
Q

List 4 failures of the Battle for Land.

A
  • Half of the 475 million hectares the government said it would reclaim were left untouched
  • Small farmers received very little while large landowners benefitted from government subsidies
  • Only 10,000 people were resettled on reclaimed land
  • Half a million people left the countryside for the towns
27
Q

What was the Corporate State?

A
  • Mussolini claimed it was a ‘third way’ between capitalism and communism
  • Industries would be part of a corporation where workers, employers and fascists would settle disputes, which would lead to increased productivity
28
Q

When was the Ministry of Corporations set up?

A
  • July 1926
29
Q

Which 2 laws that impacted industry were passed before the Ministry of Corporations was set up?

A
  • The Palazzo Vidoni Pact
  • The Rocco Law
30
Q

When was the Rocco Law passed, and what did it stipulate?

A
  • April 1926
  • It banned strikes and lockouts
31
Q

What did the 1927 Labour Charter stipulate?

A
  • That employers retained the right to change working hours and conditions
32
Q

Why was the 1927 Labour Charter passed?

A
  • The Confindustria, the body that represented Italian businesses, were against all forms of trade unions
  • Giuseppe Bottai, future head of the Ministry of Corporations, saw Edmondo Rossoni, the head of the fascist syndicates, as a threat
  • Mussolini sided with Bottai and big business, which is why it was passed
33
Q

What happened to Rossoni and the fascist syndicates after 1927?

A
  • In 1928, Rossoni and his supporters in influential posts were dismissed
  • The federation of fascist syndicates were split into 6 smaller federations, which weakened them
34
Q

How effective was the Corporate State? Give 8 details.

A
  • It took until 1934 for corporations to cover all areas of the economy
  • Workers did not get to choose their representatives in the corporations
  • Representatives tended to be fascists that sided with employers
  • Employers were able to represent themselves
  • Many industrialists ignored regulations given by the corporations
  • Paid holidays were only introduced in 1938
  • The ultimate decision and any legislation made was up to Mussolini, who was Minister of Corporations
  • The Corporate State presented Fascist Italy as successful and harmonious compared to the rest of Europe during the Great Depression
35
Q

List 7 measures taken by the government during the Great Depression.

A
  • Wages were cut by 12% in November 1930
  • The government encouraged price fixing and cartelisation
  • Mergers were encouraged (and even forced at times) to stop businesses from closing, which kept employment constant
  • Employment was provided through large public work schemes
  • There was increased welfare
  • The IMI policy
  • The IRI scheme
36
Q

What were the IMI and IRI schemes?

A
  • The IMI scheme was the government providing credit to banks that had loaned businesses millions of lire to prevent their collapse
  • The IRI scheme was the government buying up shares in in banking and industry to make sure companies did not go bankrupt and collapse
  • The government then sold these shares back
37
Q

Give 2 examples of public work schemes, and give details.

A
  • Electrifying 5000km of railway
  • Government funding of road building doubled between 1929 and 1933
38
Q

When did Mussolini announce that he was following a policy of autarky, and what were 3 reasons why?

A
  • 1936
  • Due to the sanctions imposed by the League of Nations in response to the Ethiopian War, preparation for war and the Great Depression
39
Q

List 5 measures taken to help Italy reach autarky.

A
  • Quotas on foreign imports were introduced so that domestic goods would be favoured
  • Substitute products were made for products that weren’t produced in Italy (such as lanital for wool and rayon for cotton)
  • Trade was conducted through bilateral agreements
  • The lira was devalued in 1936 to boost Italy’s export industry
  • Mussolini strengthened control of foreign currency
40
Q

What were 6 limitations of autarky?

A
  • Italy lacked raw materials and had to import goods like coal and oil
  • Industries that weren’t prioritised suffered, such as the textiles industry
  • Italy had a huge budget deficit and its foreign reserves were depleted (this later meant Italy couldn’t prepare to join WW2)
  • Prices increased
  • Wages fell below the cost of living due to wage cuts, a lack of representation and increased taxes
  • Living standards were worse than they were in the 1920s

The Rise and Fall of Fascism in Italy (c.1911-46) (15 decks)

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