Italian Finance and Investment

i. A number of new doctrines, some alternative and some complementary to each other, have been expounded in recent years in connection with the dynamics of contemporary markets. On the other hand, ever since the world slump of I929, one country after another has felt compelled to tackle such problems as employment, the balance of payments, and investment. It was inevitable that some attempt should be made, sooner or later, to test the significance of some of the new analytical tools in the light of experience; and that this should in its turn lead to a re-examination of the assumptions on which the theoretical relationships in question are based. The institutional factor has also been brought into play. It is clear, in fact, that the varying degree of control exercised by the State has a bearing on the way in which, say, Mr. Kahn's multiplier or Mr. Harrod's relation can be expected to work, if at all. Besides, the quick transition which has taken place almost everywhere from the economics of unemployment to the economics of bottlenecks and rearmament, has introduced a host of new difficulties, although not without some compensatory simplifications. These are all very fascinating and far-reaching problems, which however go far beyond the limited scope of this article. We do not therefore propose to take sides in current controversies, nor is it even a question of what Professor Robertson would term an incursion by an agnostic into the realms of theology .2 We are simply concerned here with setting out a few facts about the trends of Italian finance and investment in the last few years, that is to say with one of the more interesting and thoroughgoing attempts at public control over the volume and direction of investment which are being carried out at the present

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