The Italian economic stagnation in a Kaldorian theoretical perspective

Abstract

This paper analyses the Italian economic stagnation in a Kaldorian framework. On the theoretical ground we propose an interpretation of the Italian economic stagnation based on the continuous reduction of aggregate demand and labour productivity. We also consider the role of the banking sector as a factor driving aggregate demand and, in turn, labour productivity. We estimate a VAR for the period 2002–2015 to analyse jointly the evolution of private consumption, real GDP, private investments, credit supply, labour compensation and productivity. Our main empirical finding is that aggregate demand and credit supply significantly affect the path of labour productivity, consistently with Kaldor–Verdoorn Law.