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Italy’s Modern Economic Growth, 1861-2011

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  • Emanuele Felice
  • Giovanni Vecchi

Abstract

By making the most of a newly-available large set of historical statistics, the paper outlines the main features of Italy’s modern economic growth from unification (1861) until the present day (2011). Alongside national GDP estimates, regional inequality, living standards and inequality of personal income distribution are also discussed. Over the long run, Italy successfully caught up with the most advanced economies, and did so in a virtuous manner: while the regional imbalance persisted, at the national level economic growth was accompanied by a secular decline in income inequality. This pattern has come to a halt: during the last two decades, stagnation in GDP per capita has been mirrored by an unprecedented decline in productivity; southern regions have further lagged behind the rest of the country, and income inequality is on the rise. Italy has entered a phase of rapid relative economic decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Emanuele Felice & Giovanni Vecchi, 2012. "Italy’s Modern Economic Growth, 1861-2011," Department of Economics University of Siena 663, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    • Handle: RePEc:usi:wpaper:663
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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. Colli, Andrea & Rinaldi, Alberto, 2015. "Institutions, Politics, and the Corporate Economy," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 249-269, June.
    3. Paolo DI Martino & Michelangelo Vasta, 2014. "Discovering the dark heart of Italian capitalism: a perspective from Supreme Court legal cases and business consultants’ analyses (1950s-1970s)," Department of Economics University of Siena 698, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    4. Emanuele Felice & Michelangelo Vasta, 2015. "Passive modernization? The new human development index and its components in Italy's regions (1871–2007)," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 19(1), pages 44-66.
    5. Tomasz Brodzicki, 2017. "The Role of Openness in Regional Economic Growth. The Case of Polish and Spanish NUTS-2 Regions," Collegium of Economic Analysis Annals, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis, issue 47, pages 43-64.
    6. Domini, Giacomo, 2015. "The innovation-trade nexus: Italy in historical perspective (1861-1939)," MERIT Working Papers 2015-055, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    7. Emanuele Felice & Josep Pujol Andreu, 2013. "GDP and life expectancy in Italy and Spain over the long-run (1861-2008): insights from a time-series approach," UHE Working papers 2013_06, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Departament d'Economia i Història Econòmica, Unitat d'Història Econòmica.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    GDP; productivity; modern economic growth; living standards; inequality; poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N14 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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