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Italy, Germany, Japan: From Economic Miracles to Virtual Stagnation

Author

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  • Andrea Boltho

    (Magdalen College, University of Oxford)

Abstract

Over the last six decades, economic developments in the three countries that were defeated in World War II look strikingly similar. First came rapid reconstruction. Then followed the economic miracles of the Golden Age. The years that went from the first oil shock to the mid-1990s still saw fairly robust, and relatively similar, economic developments. Finally, during the last 15 years, the three countries held the dubious record of having the lowest output growth rates in the OECD area. The paper looks primarily at Italy, using the examples of Germany and Japan to search for parallels and contrasts. Among similarities, the main one lies in overall macroeconomic trends. The main differences are in economic policies (where Germany and Japan followed a much more orthodox stance than Italy), in institutional set-ups (with Italy much less efficient than Germany and Japan), in labour market relations (with much greater conflict in Italy than in the other two countries), and in regional developments (where Italy was handicapped by the presence of the Mezzogiorno, while Germany and Japan were hardly touched by regional differentials, at least until unification in Germany. Indeed, had Italy’s government institutions, labour market relations and regional differentials been less problematic, Italy’s growth performance might well have been superior to that of both Germany and Japan.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Boltho, 2011. "Italy, Germany, Japan: From Economic Miracles to Virtual Stagnation," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 14, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  • Handle: RePEc:bdi:workqs:qse_14
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    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/quaderni-storia/2011-0014/index.html
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. Carlin, Wendy, 1994. "West German Growth and Institutions, 1945-90," CEPR Discussion Papers 896, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew Oswald, 1995. "International Wage Curves," NBER Chapters, in: Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, pages 145-174, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Wendy Carlin, 2010. "Good Institutions are not enough: Ongoing Challenges of East German Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 3204, CESifo.
    5. G. Basevi & P. Onofri, 1997. "Uno sguardo retrospettivo alla politica economica italiana negli anni '70," Working Papers 280, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
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    Cited by:

    1. Paolo Di Martino & Michelangelo Vasta, 2012. "Happy 150th Birthday Italy? Institutions and Economic Performance Since 1861," Department of Economics University of Siena 662, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    2. Patrizia Battilani & Emanuele Felice & Vera Zamagni, 2014. "The value-added of service industry 1861-1951: the new series at current prices and first interpretations," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 33, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    3. Valli Vittorio, 2012. "Growth and crisis in the Japanese economy," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201207, University of Turin.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Comparative economic history;

    JEL classification:

    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations

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