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Corresponding Author:
Gilberto Antonelli, Department of Law Studies, University of Bologna; School of Development, Innovation and Change (SDIC), Bologna - Italy

Economic Development and Markets Globalisation after the Second World War

March 9, 2026
JEL classification: D31; E32; F30; F62; F63; F66; O11; O15; O33; O43
Keywords: Economic Development; Human Resources; Economic Growth; Technological Innovation; International Trade; Markets Globalization; Uncertainty; Inequality

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to propose a periodisation of economic development relevant at the worldwide level useful for putting in a broader picture the study of markets globalization and describing in parallel the main phases of economic development after the Second World War and the major stages of markets globalization that took place in the last phase of the latter.

The first phase has been labelled ‘Innovation and investment structured at a national level of government’ and can be considered as the baseline. The second phase has been labelled ‘Innovation and investment structured at a multi-level government’ and can be considered as a transition phase. The third phase has been labelled ‘Innovation and investment structured at a global level’ and in it three stages of markets globalization are identified.

Two digressions are provided and three research questions are raised.            

For what concerns the overall outcome of this development process we can draw only very partial conclusions also because the last phase is still an open one.

Not all regions and countries involved in the process can get the same benefits from globalization or from its slowdowns or changes of course. Inequalities and conflicts have arisen, and the more so if a new composition of government and governance will not be established. Without the presence of a relevant middle class in the different regions and countries the persistence of the globalisation process can encounter serious obstacles. We are probably on the road to a new ‘punctuated equilibrium’ in which new strategic sectors will take the lead.


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Institute for International Economics
of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce


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