Economy and Propaganda: Corporativism, Autarky, and the Cult of the Leader

Fascist economic policy began on a liberal footing under Finance Minister Alberto De Stefani (1922-1925) before turning toward growing state intervention, including the 1926-1927 "Quota 90" revaluation of the lira and the creation of the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano (1931) and the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (1933) to rescue banks and industry hit by the Great Depression. The regime proclaimed the Carta del Lavoro in 1927 and established twenty-two sectoral corporations by 1934, theoretically substituting "class collaboration" for class struggle, though workers' representatives played a limited role and employers retained real control; after the League of Nations imposed sanctions over Ethiopia in 1935-1936, the regime pursued economic autarky through campaigns such as the "Battle for Grain."