Italy’s Modern Economic Growth, 1861-2011

Emanuele Felice and Giovanni Vecchi

Department of Economics University of Siena from Department of Economics, University of Siena

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.

Keywords: GDP; productivity; modern economic growth; living standards; inequality; poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 N13 N14 N33 N34 O11 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-11
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Italy’s Modern Economic Growth, 1861–2011 (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usi:wpaper:663

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