The Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was a public effort by the government of Italy to stimulate economic growth and development in the less developed southern regions of Italy and Sardinia. It was established in 1950 primarily to construct public works and infrastructure (roads, bridges, hydroelectric and irrigation) projects, and to provide credit subsidies and tax advantages to promote investments. It ceased in 1984, although its mandate is maintained by successive, less centralised organisations.

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  • The Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was a public effort by the government of Italy to stimulate economic growth and development in the less developed southern regions of Italy and Sardinia. It was established in 1950 primarily to construct public works and infrastructure (roads, bridges, hydroelectric and irrigation) projects, and to provide credit subsidies and tax advantages to promote investments. It ceased in 1984, although its mandate is maintained by successive, less centralised organisations. It focused mostly on rural areas and many say that it assisted Southern Italy to enter the modern world, although there is evidence that some of the funds were squandered due to poor financial management by the government. Historian Denis Mack Smith noted, in the 1960s, that about a third of the money was squandered. Steel mills and other projects were promised but never built, and many irrigation projects and dams were never completed as intended. The government-led industry that was created was marginal, but the need for skilled labour led to a drop in southern unemployment. Italian journalist Luigi Barzini also noted that funds were usually given to major Italian companies to build large scale, highly automated manufacturing plants, requiring huge amounts of money to build and needing minimal staffing due to the automated nature of the plants. Most of the profits would return to companies based elsewhere in Italy with little benefit to the local economy. The Cassa per il Mezzogiorno resulted in a mass migration of about two million people in the late 1950s and early 1960s out of Mezzogiorno and into northern Italy and other countries. This left a social gap in the south, with most of the seniors, women, and children left behind.
  • La Cassa del Mezzogiorno (Casmez) è stata un ente pubblico italiano creato dal governo di Alcide De Gasperi per finanziare iniziative industriali tese allo sviluppo economico del meridione d'Italia, allo scopo di colmare il divario con le regioni settentrionali.
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  • The Cassa per il Mezzogiorno was a public effort by the government of Italy to stimulate economic growth and development in the less developed southern regions of Italy and Sardinia. It was established in 1950 primarily to construct public works and infrastructure (roads, bridges, hydroelectric and irrigation) projects, and to provide credit subsidies and tax advantages to promote investments. It ceased in 1984, although its mandate is maintained by successive, less centralised organisations.
  • La Cassa del Mezzogiorno (Casmez) è stata un ente pubblico italiano creato dal governo di Alcide De Gasperi per finanziare iniziative industriali tese allo sviluppo economico del meridione d'Italia, allo scopo di colmare il divario con le regioni settentrionali.
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  • Cassa per il Mezzogiorno
  • Cassa del Mezzogiorno
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