The trends in the expenditures of the extraordinary intervention in Southern Italy, from the Golden Age up to the end of the XX century

Abstract

The action of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, underrated and disparaged until now, following a more accurate reconstruction of its development, reveals itself as the critical engine of the convergence between Northern and Southern Italy during the era of greater prosperity in Europe, between the 1950s and the 1970s. The contribution the extraordinary intervention gave to the advancement of the whole of Italy was enacted by an unique combination of internal and international factors, whose cornerstones were the IRI experience and the strategy by the World Bank. Based on elaborations by the SVIMEZ and analyses of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno budget, followed by those pertaining to the budget of the Agenzia per la promozione dello sviluppo del Mezzogiorno, the results of the development policies enacted in the South of the country have been evaluated in their entirety. Despite the fact that, after sixty years, the gap is still very wide, especially in terms of per capita GDP, it should also be considered that the per capita income grew almost fourfold in real terms. Besides, it should be considered that such growth happened mostly during the golden age, i.e. the more fruitful period of the Cassa's action. In fact, the expenditures for extraordinary intervention gained significant value, promoting the modernization of Southern Italy exactly during the Europe-wide development of mass industrialization. However, the higher levels in expenditure were reached from the 1970s onwards, probably due to the growing centers of economical supply and provision -especially after the setup and implementation of the Regions in Italy - and after the general change in the conditions of economic stability and the spreading of structural inflation, itself due to the deadly and unstoppable growth of public debt. All in all, considering the long-term picture, the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno gave a fundamental contribution towards the overall social and economic developments of the territories in Southern Italy. Its activities and experiences should then be considered as the application of the most effective and innovative tool for development in the South and in the whole of Italy within a century and a half.