Italy and Mixed Market Economies in the Euro-Zone Crisis: A Tale of Convergence?

This paper analyzes the impact of the Great Depression on Mixed Market Economies of Southern Europe, with particular emphasis in the Italian case. In most studies of the crisis in the Euro-zone countries, Southern European countries are treated as a homogeneous group, subject to similar tensions and delivering similar outcomes. In this paper it is first of all argued that the crisis has had an asymmetric institutional impact across MMEs countries, depending not only on the existence of external surveillance, but on the prevailing institutions. As a second step, the paper moves into the analysis of crisis responses and institutional change in Italy, compared to other MMEs.