Novel Outlooks on the Marshall Plan

This book brings together a selection of original and predominantly archive-based studies on the local-level impact of the Marshall Plan, both on the industrial structure of a set of European countries and on American firms themselves. The book's uniqueness lies in the originality of the contributions, in many cases stemming from recently concluded long-term research projects. While historians have concentrated on analyzing the macro-economic effects of American economic aid, its impact on Western European industry has been largely neglected. This volume will fill this gap in Marshall Plan studies. Though the Marshall Plan did not change local development paths, and in fact probably could not have done so in regions such as Ireland or Southern Italy, it offered an opportunity for industrial renewal in regions and countries with a solid and long-established industrial base, such as Northern Italy and France.

Autorentext

Francesca Fauri is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Bologna at Forlì, where she teaches contemporary European economic history. She has extensively published on economic and business history issues. Her research interests and publications focus on the impact of the Marshall Plan in Italy, Italian industrial policies during the 1950s, and the economic history of European integration.
Paolo Tedeschi is an assistant professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca where he teaches economic history and European integration history. He is also chargé de cours visiteur at the Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve where he teaches economic history. His recent research topics and publications focus on the economic history of European integration, the economic history of Lombardy since the eighteenth century, the history of Lombard business organizations, and trade unions and friendly societies.

Inhalt

Contents: Vera Zamagni: Introduction. A New Approach to Industry in Europe - Bernadette Whelan: Ireland, Industry and the Marshall Plan - Francesca Fauri: The Marshall Plan in Italy. Industrial Renewal and Material Reconstruction - Paolo Tedeschi: Notes on the Marshall Plan in Lombardy. Technological Innovation and Vocational Training - Luigi Trezzi: SMEs in the Marshall Plan. Loans and Counterpart Funds - Valerio Varini: Technology and Productivity. The Impact of the Marshall Plan on Italian Industry: an Empirical Study - Dominique Barjot/Emmanuel Dreyfus: The Impact of the Marshall Plan on French Industries - Jacqueline McGlade: The Marshall Plan Realized? American Aims and European Re-Industrialization.