Disparities Between North And South Italy History Essay

Italy is one of the countries which are divided by a North-South divide. This divide has annexed Italy into two sections that have different characteristics from each other which has served as a motivating factor for various approaches to decision making process and at the same time shaped the outcome of several policies such as those touching on foreign policy. The South and North of Italy remained as Italy’s sections which are different form one another as a result of several conditions which have made one side to be more successful than the other. There are several disparities that have continued to influence Italy’s to the outside world. Italy has an economic difference that is has manifested by the North and South Italy. This difference has continued to impact the Italian Government for long and has remained to be to be unresolved problem for a long time.

The disparities in Italy has appeared to be a daunting task facing the local authorities, the Italian government as well as European union which is pushing for integration of the Europe. The two regions have continued to remain worlds afar due several factors that have made the distinction between the two regions open and different from one another. The factors that have come into play to bring out the disparities have emanated as a result difference in physical and human elements which have dovetailed to make the Northern part of Italy more successful and wealthier than the Southern part . The effect of this stratification has spilled over to influence the decision that has been taken by the two sections of Italy which has factored in their disparities. By looking at the disparities that are known to exist between the two sections of Italy, It will be clearly seen how the different approaches were shaped and how this has in the end led to differing approaches in term of foreign policies. This paper will thus examine how the disparities have contributed to decision undertaken as well as policies adopted.

Disparities in Italy

There are several disparities that exist between the Southern and Northern Italy and influenced the outcome of the two sections of Italy. The Northern part of Italy is taken to be successful in term of economics more than the southern part of Italy. The Northern part of Italy has become more developed than the southern part due to the presence of the industrial triangle in the Northern part of Italy. The North of Italy has some of the riches cities like Milan, Turin and Genoa which have become the three pillars of the industrial triangle. As a result of increased industrialization in Europe, Italy has benefited immensely and placed the Northern section of the Italy more successful as compared to the Southern section. With the presence of industrial ability of the Northern Italy, this section of Italy adopted measure to promote the development of industrial structure so as to harness the possibilities that were presented.

The success of the Northern triangle has been as a result of the location of the Italy’s industrial triangle which has made it possible for good produced in the northern part of Italy to access the market more easily as compared to goods produced in the south. The industrial triangle is more close to European markets of Germany, United Kingdom and France and this has made it possible for good produced to be transported to the market more easily. The network of rails and roads in the northern part also facilitated the positive growth of the Northern Italy. With close proximity to European market, the Northern part of Italy developed its network of infrastructure so as to allow for the transportation of industrial products and equipment’s to the market. With industrial goods being sold to a ready market in Europe, the Northern part of Italy developed faster that the Southern part. This influenced the kind decision made towards building of transport infrastructure that centered on the development of the Northern part of Italy more than the Southern part.

The industrial triangle has a flat terrain making it possible for factories to be built in the Northern part of the Italy. This type of terrain made the area a potential area where factories could be built more easily with little challenges being experienced from problems of poor terrain. Due to this factor the Northern part of Italy progressed from the presence of industries as well as farms that could be mechanized more easily due to the presence a good terrain. The weather also facilitated farming in the Northern section being that various crops could be planted and considerable yields realized. Some of these products made it possible for the Northern Italy to sell their products to the neighboring market in Europe. These factors contributed and shaped how decisions are made in Italy with emphasis being laid on the potentials of each section.

The southern part of Italy is considered to be poor as compared as Northern Italy. With the lowest standards, the southern part of Italy is characterized by poor living standards with many people living in rural areas. There are also a few towns that are present owing to the lack of industries that could have fuelled settlement of people in areas that are industrialized. As a result of the this disparity, there has been an increase in the number of people who migrate to the northern part of Italy in search for opportunities so as to improve their welfare as well as living conditions. The lack of opportunities in the south has been attributing to factors such as steep terrain that has made it difficult to carry out farming and mechanization of farms. As a result of this factor, farmers have relocated their farms to the northern part of Italy where farming is more practicable and rewarding in terms of returns and easy access to market. The terrain in the southern part of Italy has also made it difficult to build any meaningful infrastructure such road and rails. Had the southern part of Italy being having a good terrain, decision touching on infrastructural development could have made sense being that I would have been possible for such facilities to be used.

The southern part of Italy is also marked with limited natural resources as well as money and skills. The lack of a skilled population has contributed significantly to the prevalence of poverty in the southern Italy as many people have sought employment opportunities in the Northern Italy due to the lack of jobs in the south. For m some Southerners, migrating to other areas like Australia has been taken as an option particularly with the more immigrant moving to the Northern section. The southern part of Italy also lacked essential resources to spur any meaningful industrial growth which made it difficult to develop and support any industries that could have brought benefits to the southerners.

The occurrence of these disparities as depicted in the Northern and Southern areas of Italy has caused significant influence in the kind of decision made towards improving the Southern part of Italy in the light of the disparities in the ground with the problems of Southern Italy being both Physical and historical, a number of decision have been carried out to improve the Southern part of Italy and at the same time reduce the effects of the disparities. With the disparities causing a lot of discomfort to the Italian government, there was need to develop and implement strategies that would help in developing the Southern Italy so as to improve its economic and social status.

The Italian government made some critical decisions that were shaped by the extent to which the disparities affected the two sections of the county. To begin, the Italian government made a decisive attempt during the 1950 to develop the economy of the Southern part of Italy. This was aimed at improving various sectors that were deemed critical in uplifting the economy and bridging the divide that characterized the two section of Italy. The attempt to improve the southern section of Italy was based on the reforms that were tailored to wear down instances of inequalities that existed and at the same time stimulate the exploitation and use of resources.

The Italian government initiated land reforms which were passed by the Fund for the South which was a government agency. This agency was tasked with the execution of measures that were could see that there was appropriate use of land in the Southern part of Italy. One of these reforms was the Law 646 of 1950 which was aimed at breaking-up lands that were under traditional ownership. These laws also focused on the improvement of the peasant life and at the same time improve transport of network. Later on, there has been change with emphasis being laid on industrial development that was seen. With World Bank allocating some loans to help the South of Italy, there was need to have an instrument so as to ensure that the loans could be utilized well. Through the financing efforts, funds were channeled to the Fund for the South which was linked to the Ministerial committee for the South. This body was created to assist in the formulation of objectives that were to be attained as milestones necessary to make the Southern part of Italy rise up.

The main focus of the Fund for South was to improve agriculture and infrastructures. With agriculture being the main area of development in the South of Italy, there was need to center on raising the agricultural productivity and at the same time ameliorate conditions of the rural life. These reforms undertaken were based on laws of 1950 which were focused on reducing the size of estates that had been allocating to the land owners who were not using the farms for any meaningful use. The rationale of this move was to allow ownership of land to those people who wanted to farm. The land was thereafter annexed to landless laborers and other small land owners with an aim of stimulating agricultural activities and at the same time reduced the number of people who were unemployed. The effect of this was to promote homegrown employment that could reduce immigration to other areas and thus promote the development of the Southern part of Italy.

Italy also adopted the use of law of innovation 634/57 which was centered on the identification of industries and proving incentives to the industries that could help in improving the number of industries concentrated in the South. This led to the inclusion of the Southern development framework into Italy’s economic planning which was a sign that Italy was focused on achieving a regional development though the development of the southern economy as well as the Northern economy. These efforts influence the foreign policy of Italy which came to promote investment opportunities in the south with the aim of improving the region through the development of industries which could in turn allow the development n of infrastructure, employment opportunities and increase in the gross domestic product of the region. Through such policies, inequalities could be eroded between the South and North Italy in order to promote equal growth.

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