The 1951 census of industry and trade in Italy: some preliminary results

Abstract

The article examines certain aspects of the structure of the Italian economy as revealed by the new Census of Industry and Trade which differs in a number of respects from the earlier censuses. It is in fact the first to give a systematic, uniform and simultaneous survey of the number and characteristics of the enterprises on the one hand, and the number and characteristics of the “local units” in which the “economic units” conduct their business, on the other. The general analytical survey which the author gives of the various economic sectors provides the starting point for many observations. One theme, however, receives particular emphasis: the role of small units, of artisan and similar type, which play a dominant part, especially in industry and trade, and more particularly in the South than in the North. The author observes that “while it is undeniable that business enterprises of the artisan-type sometimes perform an essential function, it is also true that they rarely have the organisation, technique or business know-how which progress and the needs of society have made indispensable.

JEL: F14, L10, L16