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2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Italian Economics and Fascism: An Institutional View

Authors : Massimo M. Augello, Marco E. L. Guidi, Fabrizio Bientinesi

Published in: An Institutional History of Italian Economics in the Interwar Period — Volume I

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Being an economist under a totalitarian regime is highly problematic. This chapter presents the approach and internal structure of the book, which represents the first general attempt to examine the relationships between economics and dictatorships in the case of Italian fascism. The chapter illustrates the institutional approach adopted in the book, its previous applications, and how it can highlight the problems faced by the economics profession under the fascist regime. The chapter ends up explaining the organisation of the book, which systematically reconstructs all aspects of the economists’ scientific and public life and of their relationships with power. The chapter must be read jointly with Chapter “Italian Economists and the Fascist Regime: Only an Ambiguous and Painful Continuity?” to obtain a general appraisal of the problems that the book attempts to analyse.

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next chapter Italian Economists and the Fascist Regime: Only an Ambiguous and Painful Continuity?

The project has been generously funded by the University of Pisa in the framework of the action “Progetti di ricerca di Ateneo (PRA), 2017–2019”.

On Einaudi’s analysis and its consequences, see Finoia (1983).

Similar is the attitude and judgement of scholars such as Francesca Duchini and Duccio Cavalieri, who, although starting from different points of view, came to judge corporatism as a “Babel” (Duchini 1994, 222; Cavalieri 1994, 19).

Duchini (1994) insisted on the contribution of economists of Catholic ascendancy to corporatism.

Duccio Cavalieri summarized this type of critical judgement as follows: “In fact, corporatism remained a simple crucible into which pieces of pre-existing economic theories were thrown in bulk in the naive illusion that this would be enough to forge a new synthetic doctrine, endowed with superior characteristics” (Cavalieri 1994, 45–46, our translation). See, in this book, vol. 2, Fabrizio Bientinesi and Marco Cini, “Planning and Discussing Corporatism”.

The results of this research were published independently by the various teams participating in the project. See Le Van-Lemesle (1986) (France), Barber (1988) (USA), Waszek (1988) (Germany), Mizuta and Sugiyama (1988) (Japan), and Kadish and Tribe (1993) (UK). As far as the Italian research group of this international project is concerned, see Augello et al. (1988).

On the whole, the research projects to which the publications listed in this paragraph are connected involved more than 150 researchers from all over the world. Many of them have independently contributed to this institutional line of research. See, inter alia, Asso (2001), Roggi (2001), Barucci (2003), Barucci et al. (2015, 2017); and, among similar projects applied to other national cases, Marco (1996).

The studies on this topic are collected in Augello (1995), Augello et al. (1996), and Bianchini (1996).

For the results of this research project, see Augello and Guidi (2000, 2001).

See Augello and Guidi (2002, 2003, 2005).

See Augello and Guidi (2006, 2007, 2012).

See Augello et al. (2016).

See Carpi and Guidi (2014) and Cini and Guidi (2017).

See also Muniesa and Callon (2009).

The definition just provided clarifies that the institutional history of economics, as we conceive it, does not directly derive from the institutionalist and neo-institutionalist approach, although it has many points in common with it, beginning with the consideration that institutions are not only of a sociopolitical kind, but also informal ones, such as “specific ideologies, beliefs, values, norms and mores which influence human behavior” (O’Hara and Waller 1999: 528). The evolutionary complexity and interdependency between rules, governance structures, knowledge, culture, the relationship between intentionality and decentralised unintended decision-making, the role of power and political control in forging ideas and events (Samuels 2018: 6581), are other evident points of contact.

On the academic strengthening and professionalisation of legal disciplines, see, among others, Schiavone (1974) and Grossi (1987).

See Lazzini et al. (2018).

See infra, the chapter by Stefano Misiani and Manuela Mosca (Chapter “The Persistence of Tradition: The Economists in the Law Faculties and in the Higher Institutes of Business Studies”).

See infra, the chapter by Riccardo Faucci and Nicola Giocoli (Chapter “Manuals of Economics During the Ventennio: Forging the Homo Corporativus?”).

See infra, the chapter by Antonio Magliulo e Gianfranco Tusset (Chapter “The Economic Culture of Academic Journals During Fascism”).

See infra, the chapter by Francesca Dal Degan and Fabrizio Simon (Chapter “‘Generalist’ Journals Between Dissemination of Economics and Regime Propaganda”).

See infra, the chapter by Fabrizio Bientinesi and Marco Cini (Chapter “The Faculties of Political Sciences and Schools for Advanced Corporative Studies”).

See infra, the chapter by Carlo Cristiano and Massimo Di Matteo (Chapter “Series of Economics and Encyclopaedias”).

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Title: Italian Economics and Fascism: An Institutional View
Authors: Massimo M. Augello
Marco E. L. Guidi
Fabrizio Bientinesi
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: An Institutional History of Italian Economics in the Interwar Period — Volume I
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32979-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-32980-8

Copyright Year: 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32980-8_1