Italy in European Union

Philip Daniels The emerging economic model in Europe challenges key features of the post-war Italian political economy: the state's extensive involvement in industry; the cumbersome regulatory framework; the use of public expenditure to secure political consent; and devaluation as an economic tool to achieve competitiveness. Political modernisation is also important and the collapse of the cross-party agreement on constitutional reform in 1998 indicates how difficult change is in this area.