Search results for " Pensiero"

Smith, Marshall and Young on division of labour and economic growth

2003

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the theory of division of labour and economic growth proposed by Adam Smith and developed by Alfred Marshall and Allyn Young. In their approach division of labour is the main engine of growth and plays a central role in capital accumulation and technological progress. We suggest that, according to their theory: 1) economic growth is endogenous; 2) it has the nature of a cumulative, pathdependent process; and 3) it can be described as a disequilibrium process, supported by competitive forces. We argue that these aspects make the contributions of Smith, Marshall and Young still insightful for the development of growth theory, even in the light of the mo…

EUGENICS AND SOCIALIST THOUGHT IN THE PROGRESSIVE ERA: THE CASE OF JAMES MEDBERY MACKAYE

2018

The aim of this essay is to assess James Medbery MacKaye’s contribution to socialist thought during the Progressive Era. Largely forgotten today, MacKaye proposed a special version of socialism, which he called “Pantocracy,” based on a peculiar blend of utilitarian and eugenic assumptions. Specifically, MacKaye held that biological fitness mapped to the capacity for happiness—biologically superior individuals possess a greater capacity for happiness—and saw the eugenic breeding of “a being or race of beings capable in the first place of happiness” as a possibility open by the advent of Pantocracy. Incidentally, this essay provides further evidence that the influence of eugenic and racialist…

“Generalist” Journals between Dissemination of Economics and Regime Propaganda

2019

Early in the 20th, generalist journals – a kind of press which had its major diffusion in the nineteenth century – continue to accommodate the contributions of economists offering a specific debating space. However, with the affirmation of fascist ideology, generalist periodicals progressively ceased to exist or to host economists’ articles. Thus, the main object of this research consists in clarifying what could be intended by “generalism” and in relation to which events and ideological pressures it disappeared as a different way to do journalism in a dialectic interplay with specialization. The paper reviews the panorama of generalist journals focusing on the impact of the Fascist regime …

Banks, Firms and Economic Culture: Economists and Research Centres in Interwar Italy

2020

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, …

Per un federalismo del bene comune

2008

L'autore, rifacendosi ad alcuni pensatori politici d'ispirazione cristiana del XIX e XX secolo, ritiene che il vero federalismo costituisce un binomio con il solidarismo.

Reshaping Monetary Policy after the Great Crash: John H. Williams at the NY FED

2020

John H. Williams was an influential economist and central banker in the interwar years. A Harvard University professor since 1929 specialized in international trade and monetary economics, he joined the NY Fed in 1933 and became its vice-President in 1936. This paper aims to provide a general assessment of Williams’ contributions to monetary and fiscal policy during his tenure at the NY FED. We shall try to do so by following a twofold perspective: i. establish connections between Williams’ more theoretical works, his interpretations of the great depression and some policy decisions enacted by the FED in the 1930s; ii. provide new archival evidence on what was the part Williams played in th…

Francesco Ferrara

2010

voce biografica su Francesco Ferrara

STUDYING INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS AT CHICAGO IN THE 1930S: THE CASE OF ARTHUR BLOOMFIELD

2013

Gaetano Martino 1900-1967

2011

Biografia dello statista Gaetano Martino. Profilo politico, pensiero politico di una figura chiave del 900 della politica europea

Concetta Spoto, La Bancocrazia a sistema di governo. Associazionismo e credito in Giuseppe Corvaja (1785-1860)

2010

Recensione a Concetta Spoto, La Bancocrazia a sistema di governo. Associazionismo e credito in Giuseppe Corvaja (1785-1860)