Walker - 1967 - A geography of Italy

PART iv : ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Europe. In common with the railways and airlines, Italian shipping companies
benefit from a hvely emigrant traffic.
Ignoring internal movements, the ports handling most passengers are in order
Naples, Genoa, Brindisi, Trieste and Venice. Genoa and Naples are also outstanding
in freight handhng with Venice, Augusta, Ravenna, Savona, Leghorn,
La Spezia, Trieste and Bari well behind. Augusta and Ravenna owe their newfound
rank to their selection as oil terminals; similar developments elsewhere
(for example at Taranto, Bari and Brindisi) will no doubt cause other radical
changes in the order o f ports as classified by tonnage handled.
T R A D E
Although there was no hope o f its ever being achieved, the avowed policy of the
pre-war Itahan government was one o f self-sufficiency within the Empire; to this
end grain production was expanded to the utmost, imports were restricted to a
minimum, industry, particularly that o f a strategic nature, was subsidized and
protected by high tariffs, and emigrants were sent out to open up the African
territories. The revival o f such a pohcy after the war was quite unthinkable, and
particularly since 1950, as far as the structural weaknesses in her economy would
allow, Italy has staked her hopes o f achieving higher hving standards for her
rising population on an expansion o f industry and trade. In this respect she
has been assisted by an improvement in the world economic climate which has
facilitated the availabihty o f international capital for development projects, has
furnished outlets for emigration, and has prospered the tourist trade. Furthermore,
the desirabihty o f more trade unimpeded by quotas and tariffs has become
widely accepted among the western countries and has found expression in such
organizations as G A T T and O E C D , and in more restricted spheres in the
E C S C , E E C and E F T A . Traditionally a high protection coimtry, Italy committed
herself as a foxmder member o f E E C to a progressive reduction of her
tariffs to the lower level favoured by the Community, This policy has presented
Italy’s more efficient large-scale industries with an excellent opportunity
but has inevitably caused some disruption in certain sectors (textiles, shipbuilding),
particularly those in which too many small tmits are engaged and the
processes employed have not kept pace with technical advances. Even some of
the larger farms have been forced by competition into association with foreign
concerns (Alfa Romeo, Ferrania, Olivetti). Italy’s pohtical and economic aspirations
are not completely fulfilled by her membership o f E E C ; she would
prefer some wider association with American links.
Although still lagging behind most western European countries in trade per
capita, Italy between 1953 and 1963 enjoyed a spectacular trade expansion to
which the engineering industries (especially vehicles) and the chemical industry
made a major contribution. Since the recession o f 1963, with its credit squeeze
and balance o f payments difficulties - an unpleasant reminder o f the hazards
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