From globalisation to autarky. business strategies, governmental policies and international interests in the Italian aluminium industry (1928–1943)

This article reviews the history of the Italian aluminium industry between 1928 and 1943. The development of national production of aluminium is a crucial episode in the industrial history of Italy and offers a rich insight into a variety of debates, most notably the nature and impact of autarky. This article shows how different policy regimes in 1920s and 1930s led foreign multinationals and national firms to change their strategic behaviour. One suggestion of this article is that the received narrative has overestimated the impact of the ideological and political meddling by the Fascist regime in the autarky economy, downplaying the pragmatic approach that characterised the big business strategies. One important conclusion here is also that, as with import-substitution policies in emerging economies in the post-World War II era, autarky offered a shelter behind which big Italian enterprises could fast develop a large domestic market, fundamental prerequisite for greater scale economies and technological catch-up.