This book pinpoints continuities and changes in U.S. foreign economic policy from the fixed exchange rate system of the 1960s through to the period between the two oil crises of the 1970s.

Through a detailed reconstruction of American rearmament programs to Italy from the birth of NATO through the implementation of multilateral military assistance during the early 1950s, this research challenges the idea that the end of reconstruction marked a striking American shift from economic aid to defense policies. The case study of Italy highlights the impact that the defense procurement contracts had both on monetary stability and balance of payments, as well as the integration of the Italian products within the infant European trade area. This monograph demonstrates that through...