, and thus of reconstituting savings, was pursued with courageous determination, in the belief that the defence of the currency would create a solid basis for the country ’ s economic recovery. the path of international integration was followed by joining the bretton woods monetary system. in the 1950s italy enjoyed a period of unprecedented monetary stability and economic growth. the exchange rate with the dollar was stable, and remained so until 1971 ; for the first time the rate of inflation in italy was in line with, if not lower than, that of the other leading european countries. the end of the bretton woods system at the beginning of the 1970s concluded the transition from commodity money to fiat money. troubled times ensued : international economic relations were affected by deep shocks, such as the oil crises. during this passage italy paid a high price in terms of loss of value of the lira : double - figure inflation eroded households ’ purchasing power and periodical devaluations gave only temporary relief to a productive system labouring to restore its efficiency and competitiveness. in the following decade the decision was taken to advance the construction of the european community through the completion of the single market and, eventually, the economic and monetary union and the euro. italy took a leading role, responding to the widespread aspiration of the nation. these prophetic words were pronounced by carli at the beginning of the 1970s : “ during italy ’ s risorgimento the european ideal was deeply engrained in the effort to achieve national unity, so that the two ideals were not seen as contradictory but as phases of a single process moving towards the expression of a culturally homogeneous community. events in the last decades have given a sense of urgency to what might have seemed a utopian vision during the last century, so that the accomplishment of european unification is considered an indispensable development for the very survival of the values embodied in national ideals. ” 5 carlo cattaneo ( 1839 ), “ delle crisi finanziarie e della riforma del sistema monetario ”, il politecnico, 1, june, 548. marco fanno ( 1912 ), le banche e il mercato monetario, athenaeum, roma, 131 and 147. banca d ’ italia ( 1947 ), annual report of the governor to the general meeting of shareholders, “ final considerations ”, 51. bank of italy ( 1973 ), abridged version of the report for the year 1972, “

complicated architecture of institutions ( the commission, european parliament, european council, european central bank, and so on ) and legislation ( treaties, directives, regulations, etc. ) that limit or influence the sovereignty of the member states. by their choice. andrea brandolini, romina gambacorta and alfonso rosolia, ‘ inequality amid income stagnation : italy over the last quarter of a century ’, in inequality and inclusive growth in rich countries : shared challenges and contrasting fortunes, brian nolan ( ed. ), ( oxford : oxford university press, 2018 ). demopolis survey on ‘ italian youth and inequality ’ conducted on behalf of oxfam italia in september 2018 on a representative sample of 1, 040 participants. let us linger a bit longer on the markets. markets mean investors. anyone who has set aside even a modest amount of money anywhere other than in their current accounts and entrusted it to someone else to invest for them : a bank, a financial agent, a friend. usually these retail investors turn to wholesalers ( banks frequently have both in - house ) who sell them financial products of various kinds, from the most simple, such as government bonds, to the most complex, such as derivatives, depending on the sophistication of the final customer. the wholesalers ( agents who work in the product development departments of banks, or for investment funds or asset management firms ) have no homeland, even if they are italian, german or american by passport and residence. they have the whole world as their playground and they all think more or less in the same way. how many are there? let ’ s say, at a very rough estimate, about half a million worldwide. their goal is to earn the highest returns possible for the same amount of risk so as to satisfy their clients – those retailers who, in turn, must satisfy the investors who have turned to them. they strive to emerge in a highly competitive environment, but basically they use the same methods, chasing news about the financial outlooks of companies and countries one second before their competitors. and the speculators? they also exist, of course. people who use their own money or that of a few associates ( hedge funds, private equity funds, and so on ) to place bets, even shorting, i. e. betting that a company or country will get into difficulty and that the securities that it issued to fund itself will lose value. but they are pilot fish, not sharks ( even