Mussolini's Main Economic Policies
What were they?
one of Mussolini's main aims was to make Italy a rich and great power
done by achieving self-sufficient in food and raw materials
Mussolini wanted to modernise industry and agriculture
wanted to conquer a large empire
Great Depression made Mussolini push even more for this autarchy
to achieve autarchy, Mussolini launched a series of initiatives called 'battles'
Mussolini's Battles
1924: Battle over the Southern Problem
launched in 1924
aimed to overcome the long-term poverty of Southern Italy
to be achieved by building thousands of new villages in Sicily and the South
1925: Battle for Grain
began in 1925
Italian farmers were encouraged to grow more cereals
to reduce foreign imports
import controls introduced
more land made available for growing grain
by ploughing up pasture land, orchards and vineyards
in the prosperous North
farmers shifted from growing maize to wheat
adopted more mechanised farming methods
1926: Battle for Land
began in 1926
to further increase the amount of available farmland
began with the draining of marshes and swamps
created many small farms
the work created (financed from public funds) created jobs for the unemployed
attempts made to farm on cleared woodland sits and hillsides
1926: Battle for the Lira
began in 1926
began when the value of the Italian currency dropped
to restore its value abroad the lire was re-valued
allowed Italy to continue to import coal and iron for armaments and shipbuilding
Dealing with the Great Depression
Great Depression began in 1929
result: unemployment began to rise in Italy
by 1933 there were 2 million unemployed
millions more suffered from underemployment
Initially
Mussolini resorted to limited state intervention
encouraged job-sharing scehems
forcing many women to give up their jobs so that positions could be filled by unemployed men
By 1931
public money was used to prevent the collapse of banks and industries that were hit by the Depression
in 1933
the Instituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale established
took over various unprofitable industries, including:
most of the iron and steel industries
the electrical industry
the telephone system
however, these industries were not nationalised and parts of them were regularly sold to larger private organisations
Success or Failure?
achieved some moderate success
by 1940, industrial production had increased by 9%
industry overtook agriculture as the largest proportion of Gross National Product (for the first time in Italy's history)
1928-1939: imports of raw materials and industrial goods dropped significantly
A.J Gregor
claims that Mussolini's dictatorship was a relatively successful 'modernising dictatorship'
Many of his economic policies (especially his Battles) were less successful
Battle over the Southern Problem
Battle of Grain
none of the new villages promised were built
succeeded in almost doubling cereal production by 1939
but it also resulted in Italy having to import olive oil
Fruit and wine exports dropped
the numbers of cattle and sheep dropped
Battle for Land
only one area (Pontine Marshes near Rome) was effectively reclaimed
Battle for the Lira
caused a decline in exports
therefore, a rise in unemployment
revaluation of the currency also undermined the economic policies of 1922-25
began a recession in Italy
Mussolini's Battles causes as many problems as they solved
Overall
the result of Fascist economic policy was not a significant modernisation of the economy
Fascist economic policy did not increase levels of productivity
as a result, it took Italy much longer than most other European states to recover from the effects of the Great Depression in 1929