Abstract

This article examines the changes, starting in the 1980s, that marked the historiography of the economy during Fascism in Italy, and the different role that economic and social issues began to play in the interpretations of fascism. The article also esamine some general tendencies that characterize studies on Fascism over the past 30 years, such as the increasing fragmentation of research efforts (focusing mostly on individual cases and case studies, which led to a lack of works on the economy during Fascism in general); decreased research on labour history and on factories and workers; and a new approach to the role of the State and the intervention of Fascism on the economy with increased attention to the institution, practices and projects seen from a political and ideological perspective (such as corporatism and autarchy). However, due also to some cultural trends, the studies focusing on economic aspects and the relationship between socioeconomic players and the regime have lost the central role they had earlier in the historiography on Fascism.