o Economic policies Flashcards
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim?
Early policies and the shift towards fascist economics
The Corporate State
Response to the Depression
Autarky, the ‘battle for births’ and the ‘battle for grain’
Agricultural policies
Successes and failures of economic policies
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim? (Early policies and the shift towards fascist economics)
Conservative economics professor Alberto De’Stefani - appointed minister of finance.
De’Stefani focused on reducing government interference and spending in order to balance the budget - privatised telephone sector and other public-owned industries.
From 1921-1924, manufacturing production improved whilst achieving a budget surplus. Agriculturalists were unhappy about lowered tariffs.
July 1925, De’Stefani replaced by Guiseppe Volpi.
Marked Fascist economic policy towards a more regulated, state-run economy - personally influenced by Mussolini.
Battle for Lira (August 1926), where 1922 Italian currency stood at 90 Lira to 1 GBP , but by 1926 it shrunk to 150 lira.
Mussolini believed that the strength of the Lira represented the power of Italy; December 1927, the Lira was artificially fixed at 19 to the U.S dollar and 92.46 to GBP.
Valuation was too high, and gov. was forced to introduced to introduce deflationary measures (massive price and wage cuts). Export industries suffered greatly as goods were overvalued in overseas markets.
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim?(The Corporate State)
Corporate state formed after the Rocco laws of 1926.
Made up of a mixed union of workers and employers who could cooperate conductive to both their interests, producing a harmonious and productive economic order.
1928, head of Fascist syndicates, Edmondo Rossoni dismissed. Syndicates split into six parts representing the main parts of the economy. 1930, a national council of corporations representing 22 major economic sectors - allegedly to fix prices, settle disputes, regulate apprenticeships - simply propaganda, probing M had overcome problems of class conflict. Provided jobs for loyal fascists.
Corporations were councils where workers and employers met under guidance of PNF. Whilst employers were represented by employers, workers were represented by Fascist officials appointed by M.
M held major economic powers and thus made decisions privately outside vast corporate bureaucracy.
Essentially non-sense, economic policy as a facade intent on portraying M as renown leader, achiever of the impossible, rather than actually implementing a workable economic basis for Italy.
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim? (Response to the Depression)
Cut wages by 12% encouraging price fixing and cartelisation (large companies merging with smaller ones) to avoid closing businesses.
Large job opportunities provided through schemes such as road building, house construction and electrification of railways.
Welfare provided for those who couldn’t get jobs.
Gov. gave banks credit so that they would not collapse through Istituto Mobiliare Italiano (IMI).
Instituto di Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) - gov. bought shares from banks, industry and commerce to help prop of the economy.
Gov. provide education on new management techniques as well as giving financial and technical assistance to businesses.
By 1939, gov. owned a majority of companies in steelworks, shipbuilding, electricity, machine tool construction and telephone industries.
SUCCESSFUL
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim? (Autarky, the ‘battle for births’ and the ‘battle for grain’)
Autarky;
The quest for self-sufficiency for Italy driven by 3 factors:
1. decline in overseas trade due to overvalued lira and the great depression.
2. sanctions placed on Italy in 1936 in response to the militaristic actions in Africa.
3. the preparation for war, became more prominent in the late 1930s.
Trade conducted through bilateral agreements ensuring value of imports matched the value of exports - minimising gov. expenditure of gold reserves on trade.
The iron and steel sector made responsible for improving self-sufficiency by seeking sources of energy, metals and raw materials.
Gov. spending on autrarkic measures doubles from 30 billion lire in 1934 to 60 billion by 1938.
Battle for births and battle for grain;
May 1927, policy aimed at increasing population to at least 60 million from 40 million.
Military strength was believed to be boosted by larger population size. Economically larger population would create more employment keeping wages and labour costs low and also increase number of consumers.
Also aimed at improving relations with the Catholic church.
Ideal woman focused on birthing, raising children with catholic values.
Tax reductions, loans, rewards given to mothers who produced considerable amount of children.
1928, tax concessions given to men with 7 or more children. These fathers were also given promotions and better job opportunities.
All forms of birth control banned.
Bachelor tax on single men encouraging them to marry and have kids.
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Battle for grain - substantial growth both in grain imports and their international price.
Huge propaganda to free Italy from the ‘slavery of foreign bread’.
Annual wheat growing competitions subsidised by the gov. to increase production. production grew by 50% compared to pre-1914.
Due to unsuitable soil conditions production was relatively low.
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim?(Agricultural policies)
Ruralisation, land reclamation and improvement schemes to encourage peasants to stay in the rural areas. Road building, house building schemes.
475 million hectares for land provide for Italian peasants.
M contrasted the traditional values to those of the modern pleasure-seeking lifestyle (these seekers harboured socialist values according to M). Wanting to repopulate the country side and agriculture more productive.
How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aim?
(Successes and failures of economic policies) 232
X Battle for Lira caused serious deflation and hampered Italy export industries.
X The Corporate state was vast, complex and expensive unable to achieve its aims.
/ IRI - successful banking and business stability, created employment. X restricted innovation and rationalisation of the economy kept prices high.
X How ever schemes were expensive. Budget deficit grew - due to welfare provided by gov. increased from 6.9 to 20.6 % between 1930 - 1940. Leading to increasing prices.
X Italy lacked raw materials and imported coal and oil to be an Autarky. Unpopularity grew of the PNF in the cities between 1936 and 1939.
/ Italy had successful grain production 5.39 million tonnes to 7.27 million between 1925-35 with imports reduced.
X Olive trees, citrus fruits and vineyards were major export industries that Spain took over as Italian farmers stopped production for wheat production.
X Cattle and sheep farming reduced affecting Italian diet. Lack of competition increased price of grain and bread.
X Ruralisation was a failure. Only 5% of the claimed 475 million hectares was improved and only 100,000 peasants were ever given land.
/ Ruralisation did work in 2 ways;
-reduced malaria by 50%
-provided huge employment during the depression.
X over 1/2 million people left rural areas and for the first time 50% of people were not involved in agricultural industry.
X Battle for births - 1930s saw the highest proportion of married females in employment despite the effort to force women into the home sphere.
X wage discrimination against females encouraged employers to hire women at lower wages.
X cut in wages of men during the depression mean women had to work in order to provide for the family - policy had little success as birth rates continued to fall and marriage rates fell.
