The Emergence of New Competitor Nations in the European Steel Industry: Italy and the Netherlands, 1945-65

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of Italy and the Netherlands as new competitors in the European steel industry after the Second World War and compares it to similar developments in other parts of the world. It examines the factors which made it possible for these two countries to challenge some of the more established producing nations, despite a lack of natural resource endowments. The in-depth analysis highlights, on the one hand, the role of historical contingencies, namely the temporary absence of German competition and the availability of American technology and funding as part of the Marshall Plan during the first post-war decade. But on the other hand it also stresses the crucial contribution of other, more timeless elements, namely a visionary leadership, which made the right choices in terms of investments, the (coastal) location of production as well as user orientation; and the supportive, but not intrusive support from the respective governments. As recent research has shown, similar combinations also explain the success of the Japanese and South Korean steel industries, while they were largely absent for example in the British case.