Economic nationalism in Italy: The Ansaldo Company, 1882-1921

The dissertation is a case study of the Italian mechanical engineering, shipbuilding and armaments company, Ansaldo, from the 1880's until 1921. The study places Ansaldo's history within the general context of Italian industrial development during four general phases: and early period of industrial growth in the 1880's: the boom years of the Giolittian era; the war economy 1915-1918; and the postwar crisis. Ansaldo represents a striking case of a private industrial company whose fortunes were shaped by state intervention to promote economic development. State-driven demand was a crucial factor in determining the dimensions of the domestic market for Ansaldo's railroad, merchant marine and armaments production. State economic policies and Ansaldo's management strategy were strongly conditioned by an economic nationalism which sought to make Italy both a great industrial and a strong military power. By the early 1900's, Ansaldo had succeeded in becoming one of Italy's largest industrial corporations. The firm's future prospects were clouded by competition with rival companies who formed a steel-shipbuilding trust and were supported by the country's most important industrial credit bank, the Banca Commerciale. Under the management of the Perrone family, Ansaldo moved to create a vertical industrial system to challenge its rivals in the domestic market. The struggle between Ansaldo and the trust sharply divided Italian industrial and political groups. During the intervention crisis Ansaldo and its financial ally, the Banca Italiana di Sconto, came to represent a militant nationalist opposition to the political and economic establishment in Giolittian Italy. During the First World War, Ansaldo became one of the country's largest armaments producers and expanded greatly. With the conclusion of the armistice and the cessation of military commissions, however, the firm was plunged into a crisis of over-production. Immediately after the war, state demand was insufficient to enable Ansaldo to maintain the high wartime level of production. The firm also had acquired a crippling level of debt with the Banca Italiana di Sconto. At the end of 1921, both Ansaldo and the Banca Italiana di Sconto collapsed. The dissertation also examines Ansaldo's efforts to acquire foreign markets both before and after the war.