0000000000130188
AUTHOR
Pier Francesco Asso
Innovare in un contesto difficile: l'economia siciliana in un contesto di lungo periodo
Integrazione
Human Nature and Economic Institutions: Instinct Psychology, Behaviorism, and the Development of American Institutionalism
Recent articles have explored from different perspectives the psychological foundations of American institutionalism from its beginning to the interwar years (Hodgson 1999; Lewin 1996; Rutherford 2000a, 2000b; Asso and Fiorito 2003). Other authors had previously dwelled upon the same topic in their writings on the originsand development of the social sciences in the United States (Curti 1980; Degler 1991; Ross 1991). All have a common starting point: the emergence during the second half of the nineteenth century of instinct-based theories of human agency. Although various thinkers had already acknowledged the role of impulses and proclivities, it was not until Darwin's introduction of biolo…
Reti fra imprese, collaborazioni e performance economica: un'indagine sulle imprese siciliane
Si presentano i risultati di un'indagine sulle imprese manifatturiere siciliane attraverso un'analisi dei diversi modelli di collaborazione fiduciaria e delle diverse strategie di costruzione di reti fra imprese
Beyond Homo Oeconomicus. The rise and fall of Instinct theory in Institutional Economics
Waging War Against Mechanical Man. Frank H. Knight's Critique of Behavioristic Psychology
The major theme of this essay is to explore the rationale of Knight's campaign against the adoption of behaviorism in economics. We also attempt to qualify whether Knight's methodological criticism may somewhat undermine his recently acquired credentials as an institutionalist economist. In so doing we focus our attention in particular, but not exclusively, on his debate with the institutionalist Morris A. Copeland. In the first section we try to explain why behaviorism gained consensus among institutional economists, and we also provide a brief overview of the main behavioristic themes as they were presented in contemporary economic literature. The second section is devoted to Knight's rea…
Human Nature and Economic Institutions Instinct Psychology, Behaviorism and the Development of American Institutionalism
This paper explores the evolution of the psychological foundation of institutional economics between the early XXc and the 1940s. The first part deals with the rise and fall of instinct psychology. Inspired by Veblen's taxonomy of instinctive behavior, several American economists attempted to build a viable alternative to psychological hedonism of neoclassical economics then only at its infancy. In this debate we show how instinct theory came to be applied to the field now as industrial psychology. The second part discusses some of the reasons why this methodological approach began to lose momentum among leading American institutionalists. In this section we also present the emergence of be…
Banks, Firms and Economic Culture: Economists and Research Centres in Interwar Italy
In the interwar years, Italy experimented a strong growth of applied economic research. The foundation of research centers can be read and placed in a much wider international trend that emerged during the Great War. In this essay, we offer a map of the most important research centers, exploring the extensive web of relationships between the academia and the productive world. We then focus on a set of case studies, selected for their relevance. Section 2 is devoted to the banking sector, with reference to four important cases (Banca Commerciale Italiana, Banca d’Italia, Associazione Bancaria Italiana and Banco di Sicilia); section 3 to the industrial sector (IRI, Finsider, Ansaldo, Edison, …
Lawrence Kelso Frank's Proto-Ayresyan Dichotomy
This paper explores the evolution of the psychological foundation of institutional economics between the early XXc and the 1940s. The first part deals with the rise and fall of instinct psychology. Inspired by Veblen's taxonomy of instinctive behavior, several American economists attempted to build a viable alternative to psychological hedonism of neoclassical economics then only at its infancy. In this debate we show how instinct theory came to be applied to the field now as industrial psychology. The second part discusses some of the reasons why this methodological approach began to lose momentum among leading American institutionalists. In this section we also present the emergence of be…
Western European Studies: Economics
In this entry, we overview major developments of Western European studies in Economics in the last two decades. Given the richness of contributions in this field, we decided to restrict our discussion to three general topics: the theory of economic and financial integration; the economics of unemployment and the microeconomic foundations of market regulation. In the Section 1, we present the evolutions of thought on European monetary and economic integration, with particular emphasis on the discussion of exchange rate regimes, the role of policy authorities, and the cost–benefit analysis related to the establishment of a European monetary union. In Section 2, we examine some results produce…
Ostacoli e determinanti dell’innovazione: un’analisi sulle imprese siciliane di successo
Questo lavoro intende contribuire ad ampliare la precedente indagine Res sull’innovazione in Sicilia, soffermandosi in particolare ad analizzare i principali fattori di ostacolo alla realizzazione di innovazioni. In generale, le nostre elaborazioni mettono in evidenza l'esistenza di elevati livelli di percezione delle barriere territoriali esterne imposte dalle carenze del contesto (infrastrutture, pubblica amministrazione, servizi alle imprese etc.). Tuttavia, le nostre stime fanno emergere l’importanza delle barriere economiche e delle barriere relazionali nel determinare soprattutto le innovazioni di processo. Un altro risultato della ricerca sottolinea l’elevato grado di interdipendenza…
Review article su Giuseppe Guarino, La figura e l’opera di Guido Carli, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2009
Review article dedicato alla figura di Guido Carli, governatore della Banca d'Italia, 1960-1975.
"Riflessioni sui primi 30 anno di Bancaria, 1949-1979"
The Shaping of Public Economic Discourse in Postwar America: The 1947 Meat Shortage and Franco Modigliani’s Meat Plan
Abstract This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was characterized by bottlenecks in the productive system and shortages of food and other basic consumer goods, directly affecting the living standard of the population, the public opinion, and political discourse. Specifically, we will focus on the economist Franco Modigliani and his proposal for a “Plan to meet the problem of rising meat and other food prices without bureaucratic controls.” The plan prepared by Modigliani in October 1947 was based on a system of taxes and subsidies to foster a proper distribution of …
Building up the Washington Consensus: Arthur I. Bloomfield as an Economic Adviser
L'export siciliano nel lungo periodo: criticità, tendenze e caratteri
Si ricostruisce analiticamente il modello del made in Sicily e i suoi principali cambiamenti negli ultimi venti anni, attraverso un'analisi settoriale fondata sugli indici di Balassa. Si presentano comparazioni fra settori e con altri territori
Modelli di collaborazione fra imprese e dotazioni di capitale sociale
Dopo aver esposto le principali linee di ricerca sul capitale sociale, ci si sofferma ad analizzare i principali risultati di una ricerca originale sulle imprese, dedicando particolare attenzione al ruolo dei costi di transazione e alla relazione fra cooperazione e performance economica
Ostacoli, opportunità e leve strategie: l’importanza delle reti
Si analizza l'importanza delle reti d'impresa, gli ostacoli e le motivazioni che favoriscono la loro costruzione
Il Monte dei Paschi nel Novecento: storia di una banca pubblica (1929-1995)
Il Monte dei Paschi nel ‘900 analizza la storia della banca nei decenni che vanno dalla crisi del ’29 alla riforma bancaria dei primi anni ‘90. E’ la storia di una banca pubblica che scala rapidamente la classifica dei principali istituti di credito del mondo e che trasforma il proprio modello di attività di fronte ai principali eventi economici e politici che attraversano il paese. Utilizzando fonti in larga parte inedite, la storia del Monte dei Paschi nel ‘900 viene per la prima volta ricostruita in modo sistematico, ponendo particolare attenzione alla definizione delle principali strategie aziendali, alle caratteristiche del modello operativo e all’andamento economico della banca, anche…
Individualismo, benessere, epistemologia. Spunti di modernità in alcuni scritti inediti di Francesco Ferrara ed Emerico Amari
Articolo che presenta i risultati del gruppo Sicilia all'interno della ricerca nazionale "Archivi storici degli economisti" finanziata dal Miur 2001 e diretta dalla prof.ssa L. Costabile. La Società italiana degli economisti ha finanziato la ricerca e ha ospitato l'articolo in una sezione della propria rivista.
Culture economiche a confronto: una ricerca sulla diffusione del pensiero economico italiano negli Stati Uniti
Franco Modigliani e l’Unione Monetaria Europea
This essay examines Franco Modigliani's contribution to the debate on European monetary integration, from the seventies to the early 2000s as emerging from his articles published mainly on the newspapers of the time and on professional journals. From the debate around the European monetary system to the creation of the single currency, Modigliani generally stood for the integration process and sought to encourage Italian politicians to engage in macroeconomic stabilization processes and to take an active part in the formulation and management of European agreements. At the same time, Modigliani criticized the overly rigid approaches supported by other European countries, in particular Germa…
La fortuna negli USA
Si ricostruisce, attraverso fonti edite e inedite, la storia della fortuna di Antonio de Viti de Marco negli Stati Uniti
Finanza e ricchezza. Alcune lezioni dalla storia (delle idee)
HARVARD MEETS THE CRISIS: THE MONETARY THEORY AND POLICY OF LAUCHLIN B. CURRIE, JACOB VINER, JOHN H. WILLIAMS, AND HARRY D. WHITE
The paper discusses the interpretation of the Great Depression and the policy decision making by four Harvard economists: Lauchlin B. Currie, Jacob Viner, John H. Williams, and Harry D. White. All were eminent scholars in the field of monetary and international economics, and were deeply involved in policy decisions during the New Deal. We will discuss how their Harvard training provided them with a common methodological and analytical perspective, and how this common perspective translated into specific policies when they moved from the academia to public service in the US administration. Their interpretation of the causes of the Great Depression and their policy proposals show the eclecti…
Albert O. Hirschman, Europe, and the Postwar Economic Order, 1946–52
Abstract Between 1946 and 1952, Albert Hirschman worked as an economist in charge of the Western European desk of the research branch of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC. In this position he wrote extensively on patterns of European postwar reconstruction and the creation of a new world economic order. Given his deep knowledge and prewar experiences, Italy and France were his first areas of specialization, although Hirschman soon contributed to the analysis of the Marshall Plan, the shaping of the European Payments Union, and the problem of the dollar shortage. This article provides a comprehensive interpretation of this early stage of Hirschman's intel…
New perspectives on old inequalities: Italy’s north–south divide
Italy’s regional inequalities are more substantial and persistent than any other European country. They pertain to fundamental economic indicators (income, productivity, employment) and to many relevant features of the socio-institutional environment (the quality of institutions, education attainments, government and bureaucratic efficiency, etc.). The 2008–13 crisis further exacerbated divergences, with a collapse of capital accumulation and unwelcome demographic shocks (brain drains, migrations, etc.). This paper contributes to this rich literature with a specific focus on the increase of ‘within-south inequalities’ and investigates some socioeconomic determinants and processes that can e…
Imprese che esportano e imprese che vorrebbero esportare: un confronto
Sulla base di un'indagine diretta presso un campione rappresentativo di imprese esportatrici e non esportatrici, si procede a una stima dei differenziali di produttività e a un confronto relativo a variabili economiche e relazioni fra imprese esportatrici, imprese non esportatrici e imprese potenzialmente esportatrici
Culture and Politics in Italian Economic Thought: A Review (not a Celebration)
This is a critical Review Essay of Riccardo Faucci's, La Scienza dell'amor patrio, 2019. Different scholars have provided critical reviews and assessment of Faucci's long standing contributions to Italian Economic Thought.
Viaggio attraverso la storia d'Italia. Le carte di archivio di Franco Modigliani
Risparmio per investimenti: Crediop, Icipu e lo sviluppo del modello Beneduce
The shaping of public economic discourse in postwar America: the 1947 meat shortage and Franco Modigliani's meat plan
This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was characterized by bottlenecks in the productive system and shortages of food and other basic consumer goods, directly affecting the living standard of the population, the public opinion, and political discourse. Specifically, we will focus on the economist Franco Modigliani and his proposal for a "Plan to meet the problem of rising meat and other food prices without bureaucratic controls." The plan prepared by Modigliani in October 1947 was based on a system of taxes and subsidies to foster a proper distribution of disposabl…
Ezio Vanoni e l’Associazione Bancaria Italiana. Visione di banchiere ed impegno riformatore (1945-1955)
Technical efficiency and regional disparities in Italy
This paper is a contribution to the literature on Italy's regional disparities with a focus on the nature and determinants of firms' technical efficiency. Our analysis concerns a vast number of Italian firms for the decade 2008-2017 and considers the firms that are annually obliged to deposit their balance sheet. A frontier stochastic analysis is used as a method for estimating the technical efficiency of each firm. Our results offer a detailed representation on a provincial basis of disparity gaps. Moreover econometric analysis provides convincing evidence on the importance of territorial variables in the determinants of technical efficiency.
Lawrence Kelso Frank's Proto Ayresian Dichotomy: A Note
This paper explores Lawrence Kelso Frank's contribution to the evolution of the so called Veblenian dichotomy. According to this apprach, peculiar to the institutional framework of every economic system is an absolute and irreconcilable tension between the dynamic and progressive force of technology on the one side, and the static and conservative structure of ceremony and institutions on the other. The first section examines Frank's adoption of behavioristic psychology in connection with the main changes which were taking place in the American social sciences during the first decades of the twentieth century. The second section describes Frank's theory of institutional change, emphasizing …
Storia dell'ABI. L'Associazione Bancaria Italiana, 1972-1991
Il lavoro presenta una ricostruzione analitica e fondata su fonti archivistiche originali della storia del sistema bancario italiano attraverso l'operato della principale associazione di categoria, l'Associazione bancaria italiana. Il volume produce risultati originali in materia di conoscenza dell'evoluzione della politica dei tassi bancari (accordi interbancari, gestione del prime e del top rate), dell'evoluzione della politica strutturale (sportelli, fusioni, recepimento delle direttive comunitarie etc.) e di come il sistema bancario italiano intervenne per favorire o contrastare i processi di riforma sistemica che furono avviati a partire dai primi anni ottanta.
Tra stabilità e concorrenza. Riflessioni sulla storia dell’Associazione Bancaria Italiana (1944-1972)
Declino e nuovi divari
Si ricostruiscono i principali risultati di una ampia ricerca curata da G. Viesti e dedicata all'istruzione universitaria in Italia. Obiettivo del capitolo è quello di far emergere le principali criticità e di evidenziare cause e responsabilità dei divari territoriali
Introduction to E. R. A. Seligman, Autobiography
Dibattiti teorici, integrazione europea ed economia italiana: 1970-2000
Ezio Vanoni e l’Associazione Bancaria Italiana. Visione di banchiere e impegno riformatore
L'internazionalizzazione leggera in Sicilia
Saggio generale di interpretazione dei risultati di una ricerca dedicata ad analizzare meccanismi, esiti e processi che spiegano internazionalizzazione delle imprese siciliane
Money Doctoring After World War II: Arthur I. Bloomfield and the Federal Reserve Missions to South Korea
In this paper we analyse the scientific contributions of the New York Fed economist Arthur I. Bloomfield. A Canadian born economist, in 1941 Bloomfield took his PhD in economics at the University of Chicago, under the supervision of Jacob Viner and then joined the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a Research Economist and stayed there until 1958. In this position, Bloomfield combined scholarly research on recent economic history and international financial and banking problems with active service as a member of various committees and commissions, both in the United States and abroad. While on leave from the Fed, he accepted appointments as a consultant and advisor to various …
Mafie ed economie locali. Obiettivi, risultati e interrogativi di una ricerca”
Innovare per crescere. I risultati di un’indagine sulle imprese siciliane”
Si presentano i risultati di un'indagine diretta sulla propensione a innovare delle imprese siciliane e si analizzano le implicazione in termini di sviluppo economico
Ostacoli e determinanti dell’innovazione: un’analisi sulle imprese siciliane di successo
Utilizzando i dati raccolti con un'indagine diretta presso un campione molto esteso di imprese siciliane di successo, si analizza la percezione degli ostacoli a innovare e le principali determinanti che contribuiscono a spiegare il fenomeno dell'innovazione in Sicilia
Sull'eterogeneità del Mezzogiorno
Il capitolo rappresenta l'ambizioso tentativo di costruire un modello di sviluppo locale in grado di spiegare il "mistero della crescita" e fornire elementi di guida e di riflessione per le diverse componenti coinvolte a realizzare il cambiamento. Un aspetto viene messo in particolare luce: l'analisi quali-quantitativa sulle determinanti della profonda eterogeneità dei Sud, anche di quelli che sono geograficamente, storicamente, tradizionalmente contigui e da lungo tempo radicati in una condizione di relativa e trasversale arretratezza o apparente immobilismo. Questa eterogeneità emerge chiaramente man mano che l'attenzione si sposta ai diversi ambiti di sviluppo locale.
Monetary Policy Rules: From Adam Smith to John Taylor
We describe, through the lenses of history, the intellectual origins of the Taylor rule. The Taylor rule was an important component of the transformation that swept through the monetary policy landascape in a remarkable few years following the abandonment of monetary targeting. In this long paper we provide an original overview of the long-dated debate on rules vs discretion in monetary policy, ever since Adam Smith and the monetary controversies of the XIX century. We then analyse in greater detail the debates in the interwar years (Wicksell, Keynes, Cassel, Simons, Fisher) and the debates in the 1950s and 1960s (Phillips, Friedman, the rational expectation hipothesis) and how these debate…
Guido Carli economista internazionale, 1945-1960
Guido Carli è stato un protagonista del processo di reinserimento dell’economia italiana nel nuovo ordine internazionale come risulta dalla recente pubblicazione dei primi volumi di Scritti e discorsi. Carli partecipò in prima persona alle principali tappe che segnarono il lungo percorso intrapreso dalla nostra economia dalla fine della guerra alla formale dichiarazione della nuova parità centrale con il dollaro nel 1960 in ottemperanza del dettato degli accordi di Bretton Woods. In questo scritto analizzo in particolare due aspetti. Il primo riguarda il contributo di Carli al processo di integrazione internazionale dell’economia italiana dall’interno delle autorità di politica economica na…
The Taylor Rule and the Practice of Central Banking
The Taylor rule has revolutionized the way many policymakers at central banks think about monetary policy. It has framed policy actions as a systematic response to incoming information about economic conditions, as opposed to a period-by-period optimization problem. It has emphasized the importance of adjusting policy rates more than one-for-one in response to an increase in inflation. And, various versions of the Taylor rule have been incorporated into macroeconomic models that are used at central banks to understand and forecast the economy. ; This paper examines how the Taylor rule is used as an input in monetary policy deliberations and decision-making at central banks. The paper charac…
Le banche italiane nel “secolo breve”. Riflessioni dalla storia dell’ABI, 1919-1991
This article examines the developments occurred in the Italian banking system during the second half of the 20th century from the point of view of the banker’s major professional association, the Associazione Bancaria Italiana (ABI). Starting from the postwar reconstruction we shall describe ABI’s attitude on the changing trade-off between stability and competition, its ability to cope with the new problems arising from the 1970s crisis, the views expressed and the actions undertaken concerning the reform of the banking system during the 1980 and early1990s. In doing so we shall profit from a huge amount of archival sources emerging from two previous books that the authors published on the …
Wesley Mitchell, Arthur Burns and Trygve Haavelmo on business cycles The two Encyclopaedia of the social sciences (1930–1935 and 1968)
The paper presents a brief reconstruction of the history of the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (1930-1935 and 1968) a 15 volume major editorial enterprise that was accomplished under the direction of Columbia economist E.R.A. Seligman. It then provides an analysis of the main entries that were devoted to business cycle theory, namely those by Wesley C. Mitchell, Arthur Burns and Trygve Haavelmo.
Il patrimonio genetico di ‘Bancaria’
Review articles di M. A. Bernstein, A perilous progress. Economists and the public purpose in Twenitieth century America
Fiducia, Partecipazione a reti e performance economica
Nell'ambito di una ricerca originale su un campione rappresentativo di imprese operanti in un numero selezionato di settori, è stato analizzato il ruolo della fiducia interpersonale e della fiducia istituzionale nel determinare una maggiore o minore propensione a collaborare; inoltre è stata approfondita la relazione fra partecipazione a reti (formali e informali) e performance economica, distinguendo anche il caso in cui le reti sono il risultato di legami forti di tipo parentale o amicale
Harvard meets the crisis: U.S. fiscal policy in the 1930s and the political economy of Lauchlin B. Currie, Jacob Viner, John H. Williams and Harry D. White
The paper aims to describe the contribution of four Harvard economists to the interpretation of the Great Depression and the policy decision making from 1933 to 1938. Lauchlin B. Currie, Jacob Viner, John H. Williams, Harry D. White, eminent scholars in the field of monetary and international economics, were deeply involved in policy decisions during the New Deal. In our synoptic analysis we will benefit from extensive scholarly work that has been provided in the last few years. We shall examine the extensive biographical connection between Currie, Viner, White and Williams with special regard to their common training at Harvard. Then we shall compare their interpretations of the causes of …
Recensione a Omiccioli M. (2018), La “strana” biblioteca di uno “strano” economista. Viaggio tra i libri di Ernesto Rossi, Collezioni e studi della Biblioteca Paolo Baffi, Roma: Banca d’Italia, pp. 417 e Recensione a Schioppa S. e Mastrantonio S. (cura di) (2018), L’eredità di Ernesto Rossi. Il fondo della Biblioteca Paolo Baffi, Collezioni e studi della Biblioteca Paolo Baffi, Roma: Banca d’Italia, pp. 437.
Review article on two books published by the Banca d'Italia on the economist Ernesto Rossi and the development of his economic ideas during the 1930s while Rossi was a political prisoner due to his anti-fascist activities. The two books explore his collections of books, his activities as a translators of classics in economics and the preparation of his own essays on such topics as the European constitution, poverty and the welfare system.
The Taylor Rule and the Practice of Central Banking
The Taylor rule has revolutionized the way many policymakers at central banks think about monetary policy. It has framed policy actions as a systematic response to incoming information about economic conditions, as opposed to a period-by-period optimization problem. It has emphasized the importance of adjusting policy rates more than one-for-one in response to an increase in inflation. And, various versions of the Taylor rule have been incorporated into macroeconomic models that are used at central banks to understand and forecast the economy. This paper examines how the Taylor rule is used as an input in monetary policy deliberations and decision-making at central banks. The paper characte…
Francesco Ferrara
Voce specialistica sui contributi di Francesco Ferrara alla storia del pensiero economico italiano con particolare attenzione ai recenti risultati raggiunti dalla storiografia
Franco Modigliani e l'Italia
Utilizzando fonti inedite e originale il lavoro ricostruisce e analizza le relazioni intellettuali che legarono l'economista Franco Modigliani agli economisti italiani dal 1944 fino alla sua scomparsa nel 2003. In particolare ci si sofferma ad analizzare la sua vasta produzione pubblicista con particolare riferimento al suo impegno di editorialista del Corriere della Sera negli anni 70 e 90. I temi maggiormente trattati da Modigliani riguardano il modello di sviluppo dell'economia italiana e la partecipazione italiana al processo di integrazione europea dalla crisi degli anni settanta al trattato di Maastricht.
A Scholar in Action in Interwar America: John H. Williams on Trade Theory and Bretton Woods
In this paper we analyse the scientific contributions of Harvard economist John H. Williams as international trade theorist and monetary reformer together with his activities as a Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In the first 2 Sections we first present a succinct overview of Williams’ main contributions to international trade theory and to the interwar debate on the reform of the international monetary system. Particular attention will be devoted to his early academic writings which contained different critical arguments against the two main tenets of classical international economics: the Ricardian theory of comparative advantages and the gold standard. These critic…
Storia dell'ABI. L’Associazione Bancaria Italiana, 1944-1972
Questa monografia ricostruisce la storia del sistema bancario italiano del 1944 al 1972 attraverso le vicende della sua principale associazione professionale, l'ABI. In particolare sono state analizzate le vicende degli accordi interbancari e i loro riflessi sulle condizioni del sistema creditizio negli anni della ricostruzione e del miracolo economico. Particolare enfasi è stata poi attribuita al contributo di ABI alla definizione dei cosiddetti piani sportelli e alla modernizzazione del sistema bancario italiano sia dal punto di vista operativo che culturale.
Un sistema in transizione. L'ABI e il mondo bancario dal 1972 al 1991
His Fate in the US
Asso recounts the many difficulties De Viti de Marco met with over the translation of his book First Principles of Public Finance, the reviews expressing diametrically opposed opinions, from F.C. Benham on the German translation (1932) to H.C. Simons on the English translation (1936).
Curiosities from the Columbia Archives
Su alcune conseguenze teoriche delle "Conseguenze economiche della pace"
A Scholar in Action in Interwar America. John H. Williams' Contributions to Trade Theory and International Monetary Reform
In this paper we analyse the scientific contributions of Harvard economist John H. Williams as international trade theorist and monetary reformer together with his activities as a Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In the first 2 Sections we first present a succinct overview of Williams' main contributions to international trade theory and to the interwar debate on the reform of the international monetary system. Particular attention will be devoted to his early academic writings which contained different critical arguments against the two main tenets of classical international economics: the Ricardian theory of comparative advantages and the gold standard. These critic…
Finanza per investimenti. La Sezione BNL per il credito alle opere pubbliche (1959-1992)
Shaping Monetary Constitutions for Developing Countries: Some Archival Evidence on the Bloomfield Missions to South Korea (1949-1950)
In this paper we analyse the scientific contributions of the New York Fed economist Arthur I. Bloomfield. A Canadian born economist, in 1941 Bloomfield took his PhD in economics at the University of Chicago, under the supervision of Jacob Viner and then joined the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a Research Economist and stayed there until 1958. In this position, Bloomfield combined scholarly research on recent economic history and international financial and banking problems with active service as a member of various committees and commissions, both in the United States and abroad. While on leave from the Fed, he accepted appointments as a consultant and advisor to various …
Antonio Scialoja professore di economia politica all’Università di Torino
Was Frank Knight an institutionalist?
This paper critically examines Geoffrey Hodgson's recent provocative claim about Frank Knight as being a member of American institutionalism in the interwar years. In the first section of the paper the authors attempt to provide a definition of institutionalism and to emphasize its meaning from a historiographic point of view. The second and third sections analyze the two main methodological struggles between Knight and the institutionalists, namely, the debate during the early 1020s over the use of instinct theory as an explanation of economic behavior, and the subsequent campaign led by Knight in the late 1920s and early 1930s against the behaviorist wing of American institutionalism à la…
Sull’apertura internazionale della manualistica italiana negli anni 1860 – 1922. Alcune riflessioni generali e il caso dei trusts
A Scholar in Action in Interwar America. John H. Williams' contributions to trade theory and international monetary reform
The 1947 Meat Shortage and Modigliani’s Meat Plan: The Shaping of Public Economic Discourse in Postwar America
This paper aims to assess Modigliani’s contribution to the American post war debate over price controls and economic stabilization. We will focus on his unpublished “Plan for meeting the domestic meat shortage without price control and rationing”. Elaborated by Modigliani in the Summer of 1947 the plan was designed to cope with meat shortage arising from crop failures aggravated by the implementation of the European Recovery Program. It was based on a system of taxes and subsidies aiming to realize a proper distribution of disposable income and to warrant a minimum meat consumption without encroaching market mechanisms and consumers’ freedom. In the paper we will describe the contents of th…