Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- 1 Structure, main themes and data of the monetary history
- 2 Money growth and its determinants
- 3 From political unification to 1913: creation of a new currency, multiplicity of banks of issue, banking legislations, monetary systems
- 4 The First World War: inflation and stabilisation
- 5 The 1920s and 1930s: foreign exchange policy and industrial and financial restructuring
- 6 The Second World War and the 1947 stabilisation
- 7 The fifties and sixties
- 8 The seventies
- 9 Italy in the eighties: towards central bank independence
- 10 Conclusions
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index of authors
- Subject Index
3 - From political unification to 1913: creation of a new currency, multiplicity of banks of issue, banking legislations, monetary systems
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- 1 Structure, main themes and data of the monetary history
- 2 Money growth and its determinants
- 3 From political unification to 1913: creation of a new currency, multiplicity of banks of issue, banking legislations, monetary systems
- 4 The First World War: inflation and stabilisation
- 5 The 1920s and 1930s: foreign exchange policy and industrial and financial restructuring
- 6 The Second World War and the 1947 stabilisation
- 7 The fifties and sixties
- 8 The seventies
- 9 Italy in the eighties: towards central bank independence
- 10 Conclusions
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index of authors
- Subject Index
Summary
Since its inception, (the Bank) has directed its activities to the well-being of the State.
Bank of Italy (1935)Introduction
This chapter deals with the evolution of Italian monetary policy during the period from the political unification of the country to the eve of the First World War. Particular attention is given to the evolution of the legislation governing the activities of banks of issue, the monetary system, and the monetary relations with the rest of the world. As a result, the core of this chapter deals with the motivating factors and the practical repercussions of important new legislation passed in 1866, 1868, 1874, 1880, and 1893. We also emphasise the model of monetary policy adopted by the most important banks of issue in the country.
In view of the length of the period analysed, we shall deal separately with the two sub-periods 1861–96 and 1897–1913, in the hope that this demarcation will facilitate the reading of this chapter. Of course, we could have divided the period differently. Initially, in fact, we had considered 1893, the year when the Bank of Italy was formed, as the dividing line between the two sub-periods; but, as will be readily evident later, we have subsequently concluded that 1893 was not a significant year with respect to structural changes in monetary policy, nor did it bring specific new ideas with regard to real variables and the business cycle.
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- A Monetary History of Italy , pp. 53 - 106Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1997