Considerazioni finali [Ricchi per sempre? Storici dell'economia ed economisti per i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia]

These conclusions focus on the following questions: How does the Italian case fit within the broaderanalysis of economic growth? Are the implications of growth theory confirmed by the 1861-2011evolution of the Italian economy? And how can the Italian experience help evaluate growth theoryitself? We conclude that in the first century after Unification the Italian economy represents a goodexample of convergence, which can be adequately described by the neoclassical growth model.Similarly, the subsequent slow-down experienced in more recent decades can be accounted for by thenew developments of the theory of growth, which have focused on the impact of human capital andinstitutions.