The Italian budget: 1938-1952

Abstract

The article studies the evolution of Italian public finances from the pre-war period to present day. On the basis of the official data recently published by the Italian Government, the author gives a reasoned and detailed historical picture of the situation, accompanied by a series of critical remarks on some of the more debatable aspects of Italian public finance. He insists more especially on the reversal of the trend and the widening of the deficit which has occurred since 1950-51, following on the situation that has arisen since the Korean war and the adoption of re-armament policies; on growing fiscal pressure and the dangers connected therewith; on the variations in the structure of receipts and expenditures; on the discrepancies between assessed revenue and expenditure and cash incomings and outgoings; on the presence of a huge amount of net debt arrears, which give rise to a precarious Treasury situation.

JEL: H60, H62, N14