Teoria, cultura e politica economica negli anni del "miracolo" italiano, 1953-1968

In the 1950s the Italian economy underwent a spectacular stage of growth, the so called “economic miracle”. At the beginning of the 1960s the “economic miracle” came to a halt and was followed by a period of relative decline. Important economic reforms were debated while the political and parliament majorities changed from centrism to a coalition between centre and left-wings parties. In the same period of time, from a sociological and economic point of view, an affluent and consumer society was established. In particular, this paper discusses the following topics: 1) Central Bank’s monetary policy; 2) economic development of the backward regions of the South of Italy; 3) economic planning. With regard to all these themes, the paper tries to compare the theoretical analysis and policy suggestions put forward by Italian economists with the policy decisions and economic measures adopted by Governments in power.