Abstract

The paper analyses the long-run pattern of development of the Italian manufacturing industry. It is shown that two distinct phases in the industrialisation process can be observed since its very beginning to date. The first one, which came to an end around the late 1960s, was characterised by a constant widening of the range of industrial activities, driven by important technical developments in "modern" industries. This process was strongly supported by State intervention, which aimed at pursuing a convergence of Italian industrial structure towards that of early industrialised economies. Starting with the early 1970s, the matrix of industrial activities has begun to shrink, and a new "model" has gradually gathered importance, grounded on "light" industries producing consumption and investment goods. The paper argues that a key role in this connection has been played by the decline of important "modern" industries directly controlled by the State.