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=Mussolini's Economic Policies, //"The Battle for Lira."//=

Aims
By the time that Mussolini came into power, the country was entering into an economic boom. Having taken the credit for this, the Italian Dictator established a number of aims. 1. Mussolini wanted to play a larger part in European affairs - he wanted to build Italy's economy to a level where it could rival the great industrial powers of the post-war period, namely Britain and France. 2. He wanted to make Italy an **__Autarky__** –-> Economically self-sufficient. 3. He desired that the various classes, “//worked together harmoniously//” (Mark Robson). 4. But one of his most important aims was to make the country "militarily strong" (Mark Robson) again, following the Great War. Essentially he wanted **Italy to be an empire that reflected that of Ancient Rome**. He therefore called for an Italy that was a, "//Modern War Machine//" (Mark Robson), and subsequently the need for, //"__**tough, disciplined and warlike citizens**."__ (//Mark Robson) In order to fulfill these aims he carried out numerous actions. What was most important for Mussolini was that Italy was considered a leading nation, with a leading currency, and following the depression, the Italian Lira had a very low rate of exchange. For this reason, Mussolini desired a //"strong, vibrant currency"// for a, //"strong, vibran country."// (Mark Robson)

Actions
1 He introduced a new, higher, rate of exchange at 90 lire to the pound.

2 Mussolini primarily **Decreased State Intervention** in Industry, then subsequently increased it again to a rate of 80% in shipbuilding and 50% in steel production.

3 Similarily, he lowered and then raised government spending in economics, following his introduction of **public workschemes** after unemployment reached a record high. These public works schemes included building motorways and working hydroelectric power plants etc...

 4Mussolini launched the **IMI** to provide credit to encourage industrial development whilst simultaneously creating the **IRI** - the institute for Industrial Reconstruction in January of 1933 - which allowed Mussolini to control many key industries as it provided finance for firms producing goods such as steel, electricity and machine-tools.

5 promoted the armaments industry. 6 Then he set up the Corporative System and subsequently reintroduced trade unions for the employee and employer. (Ministry of corporations, 1926)

Success
For Mussolini, there appear to be more successes rather than failures with his industrial policies: - By limiting government spending, he lowered inflation. - Outlawed socialist trade unions. (Vidoni Pact 1925). - Revaluation of the Lira. - He created a healthier raw import trade by focusing industry on steel, armaments & ship building. - High tariffs on imports, meant that Italian inhabitants focused more on their own economy, getting closer to an autarky. - His Public Work Schemes created more jobs. - Italy, because it had more money in circulation when other countries were struggling was able to ‘bail out’ the banks.

Failure
However, there were also a number of failures that he could have easily avoided had he spent more time focusing on Economics rather than European affairs: - He reduced state intervention in industry. - Telephones were taken from state control. - Revaluation of the Lira meant that goodws were twice as expensive causing a depression in the export industry. - By the time the war came around, Italy was facing massive budget deficits as government income was lower than expenditure. - By 1933, unemployment had totalled over 2,000,000. (But he did subsequently introduce the Public Work Schemes. - As a domestic policy the success of the IRI must be judged to have been flawed, as it made no impact on the north-south divide as new developments were by and large centred on the North.

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Recommended Weblinks
§  http://wombat.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/italy/muss_domestic.htm §  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080929081640AAmBsck §  http://fusedthought.com/2007/12/23/domestic-policies-of-mussolini/ §  [|www.oppapers.com/essays/Compare-Contrast-Domestic-Policies-Hitler-Mussolini/107653] §  http://www.mattmayer.com/essays/mussolini.html