International Integration and the Balance of Payments Constraint: The Case of Italy
A major feature of economic development since the second world war has been a significant increase in the integration of industrial economies. Exports as a proportion of GDP of industrialised capitalist economies more than doubled from the beginning of the 1950s to the end of the 1960s with the consequent diminution of the scope for independent national economic policies advocated by Keynes in 1933. A particular striking example of this loss of independence may be seen in the current position of the Italian economy. Government policy since the war has led to a rapid integration of Italy into the world economy. The resulting specialisation has been such that the production process, and hence the level of domestic activity, is markedly dependent on imports. The implications of this dependence have been obscured by an economic policy which has not been oriented towards the achievement of high levels of employment. Despite significant net labour emigration (about 100 thousand per year in the period 1960-1969 (1STAT, 1970), the average rate of unemployment in Italy throughout the 1960s was greater than in the other Western European countries (Sorrentino, 1970; Moy and Sorrentino, 1975). More significantly, this high rate of unemployment has continued even though there were very large surpluses on the current account of the balance of payments throughout the 1960s (except 1963) which persisted up to 1972. Further, whenever the overall balance of payments was in deficit the road of deflation was chosen, irrespective of the circumstances underlying the deficit. These policies have resulted in a structure of industry such that a government determined to deal with unemployment would today find itself severely constrained by balance of payments difficulties.
Macropolicy in the Rise and Fall of the Golden Age
The Golden Age was the era of demand management. Originally with monetary, and then fiscal policy, the governments of the advanced capitalist economies attempted to enhance and guide the accumulation process. They allocated credit, manipulated interest ra
In Vivo Comparison of Synthetic Macroporous Filamentous and Sponge-like Skin Substitute Matrices Reveals Morphometric Features of the Foreign Body Reaction According to 3D Biomaterial Designs
Synthetic macroporous biomaterials are widely used in the field of skin tissue engineering to mimic membrane functions of the native dermis. Biomaterial designs can be subclassified with respect to their shape in fibrous designs, namely fibers, meshes or fleeces, respectively, and porous designs, such as sponges and foams. However, synthetic matrices often have limitations regarding unfavorable foreign body responses (FBRs). Severe FBRs can result in unfavorable disintegration and rejection of an implant, whereas mild FBRs can lead to an acceptable integration of a biomaterial. In this context, comparative in vivo studies of different three-dimensional (3D) matrix designs are rare. Especially, the differences regarding FBRs between synthetically derived filamentous fleeces and sponge-like constructs are unknown. In the present study, the FBRs on two 3D matrix designs were explored after 25 days of subcutaneous implantation in a porcine model. Cellular reactions were quantified histopathologically to investigate in which way the FBR is influenced by the biomaterial architecture. Our results show that FBR metrics (polymorph-nucleated cells and fibrotic reactions) were significantly affected according to the matrix designs. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the 3D matrix tissue interactions and can be useful for future developments of synthetically derived skin substitute biomaterials.