Next Generation Italia

The establishment of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Fund for the South) in 1950 was an unprecedented event that marked the history of Italy and, in particular, the methods of public intervention for productive recovery and economic growth, aiming at the modernization of agriculture, infrastructure, and industry in the South. At that time, a unique convergence of three scenarios for reducing economic and social disparities was achieved: between Europe and the United States, between Italy and the most advanced European countries, and between the South and the North of Italy. Today, in the implementation of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) and albeit in a different context, the main lesson from that experience remains useful: the importance of unifying and coordinating interventions through a national control room and an effective governance system for their implementation. The objective must be an "extraordinary" and lasting change for Italy and its Southern regions. The volume is the result of the elaboration and discussion initiated with the Conference organized in December 2020 by the Merita Association - Meridione Italia and the Department of Economics of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno.