Fascist Italy copied British sinking-fund methods to finance austerity

Evidence

Following the British procedure, the Fascist regime introduced a sinking fund in August 1927 (FO 371/12947, fol. 162). Th is permitted consolidation of the fl oating debt whereby the fi veand sevenyear Treasury bonds were converted into the longerterm “littorio loans” (on November 6, 1926, “conversione forzosa”). Th e littorio loans represented a popular “eff ort” [sforzo] that attracted the small savers for the national “economic battle” [battaglia economica] (Volpi, in Cotula and Spaventa 1993, 588). — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1714

Categorization

• XREF: Direct institutional borrowings of the ‘British procedure’ ties the Italian case to the earlier chapters’ account of British anti-inflation orthodoxy; the ‘economic battle’ framing shows how austerity was sold as patriotic sacrifice. — connects to: Britain pioneered austerity in 1920 and Mussolini’s Italy followed in 1922 — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 820; British austerity experts exported thrift propaganda to Brazil as colonial policy — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 900; British finance lent to Italy primarily to prevent revolution and protect prior investments — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1721 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• British finance lent to Italy primarily to prevent revolution and protect prior investments #corroborates (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1721
• Contemporary EU austerity reforms echo Fascist-era demands in Italy #expands (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1589