I am guessing that at least part of it was the same reason Italy didn't pose as much of a threat during the war itself- a lack of industrial base. Were there other factors as well? I know the US was pretty actively involved in restoring Germany and Japan; did they not focus as much on Italy for some reason? If it was just lack of industrial base, what led to Italy lagging behind the other Axis powers in this regard?
EDIT: And to clarify what I mean by "rebound", I'm talking about the fact that Germany and Japan are both economic giants, while Italy is seen as a bit of a "problem child" in the EU. I also get a sense, from the few 60's Italian films that I've seen, that Italy took longer to recover after the war than the other two powers did. Are these assumptions correct?
Not sure if your premise is correct. The economy of Italy post WWII expanded at a significant rate on par with other powers of Europe, i.e., UK, France and Germany. The post war economic miracle applies to Italy where the years in the 50s and 60s are referred to as "il miracolo economico". If you look at the post war GDP data, you can see Italy moving along the same trajectory as the other powers, even briefly surpassing the UK in the 1980s.
You can see this from Google's data on GDP
Italy started WW2 with a much smaller industrial base than Germany or Japan and many critical reforms such as rural land reform did not occur until the 1950s. However Italy enjoyed rapid economc growth from the 50s through the 70s helped by discover of large natural gas reserves in the industrial north and despite serious political and labor market problems. Her industrial policy favored exports and was assisted by currency devaluation when the debts mounted. Throughout this time Italy has had a sophisticated banking, engineering, manufacturing and design sector.
What has eventually led to Italy's stagnation is a hugely inefficient legal system that makes it unpredictable and frustrating to enforce contracts as one would in the UK or US; rigid labor and trade laws that discourage hiring and prevent competition in protected industries; and the inability to devalue the Euro currency to enhance exports. Individual Italians are industrious and resourceful, in part as the result of these challenges, but the result is that lending is less attractive, companies are reluctant to invest because they don't have clear expectations of the regulatory environment, consumers are stuck with inefficient choices, and honest businesspeople must compete against those who find ways to pay bribes, even as authorities investigate everyone in order to try to prevent corruption from getting further out of hand.
Yeah, the premise here is a bit lacking. While Italy did not become an industrial giant, the standard of living in Italy is very high - while it is in a sense a "problem child" this is more due to political instability than economic problems. Of course Italy has pockets of poverty, but no moreso than most first world countries.
I know the US was pretty actively involved in restoring Germany
In what way?