Italy’s Modern Economic Growth, 1861-2011

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.