ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: Strasbourg panel on Economics under political repression
Author: FAUCCI Riccardo
Session on Economics under political repression Riccardo Faucci, Università di Pisa, Italia Notes on the conditions of Italian economics (and economists) under the Fascist regime Summary The attempts of the Fascist regime (1922-1943) to gain the economists' approvation was rather successful in the first phase (1922-26), when laissez faire was presented as official policy. Therefore, such economists as Pantaleoni, Einaudi and Ricci supported the "privatisation" plan carried on by the Mussolini's finance minister De' Stefani (himself an economist). After the launching of the Carta del lavoro (1927), establishing the so-called Corporative State, many enthusiasms fell. Ricci and Bresciani Turroni preferred to move to Egypt, as teachers at the newly founded Cairo University. In 1931 the regime imposed a formal oath of fidelity to Fascism for all university professors (only 11 refused to swear, among them just one economist, A. de Viti de Marco, who resigned from his chair). In 1935 the regime compelled Einaudi to close his journal, "La riforma sociale", for its Liberal and non-conformist line. Nevertheless, the economists qua economists did not suffer very much before 1938, when the "Leggi per la difesa della razza" (laws for the defense of the Italian race) had the effect of expelling many prominent Jew economists from University. Some of them could successfully abandon Italy (Mortara and Pugliese in South America, the young Modigliani in the States, etc). Many of them continued to live in Italy and began to write under false name (the economic historian Luzzatto, Fubini, Bachi and others). When Italy was occupied by the German army, after September 8th, 1943, at least two economists were caught and sent to concentration camps: Fubini and Dalla Volta. They never returned.
Registred web users only can download this paper - Go back
Please note that files available for download have not been checked for viruses. These files have been submitted by authors of the conference to this web site. Conference organisers can't accept any responsibility for damages caused to users by downloading such files.