The Italian Economists as Legislators and Policymakers During the Fascist Regime

This paper analyses the role played by the Italian economists as members of Parliament (the Chamber of deputies and the Senate) and in the government during the fascist regime. Recent research (Melis, 2018; Soddu, 2008; Gentile, 2002 and 2003; Fimiani, 2001) stresses the fact that during fascism the role of Parliament and of the executive changed substantially. From its very beginning, fascism rejected the principle of the “sovereignty of the people” as expressed by a freely elected, pluralistic Parliament and acted to shift the balance of power in favour of a government led by a charismatic duce. In November 1926, the deputies who opposed the regime were expelled from the lower chamber. Then, after 1928, elections for the lower chamber became de facto a plebiscite: citizens were asked to approve in toto (or hypothetically to reject) a list of 400 candidates made out by the fascist party. In 1939 the lower chamber itself was transformed into a “corporative chamber”. Furthermore, the parliamentary debate in the plenary sessions was severely restricted and most of the work was carried out by restricted committees. The action of the government also changed substantially: the ministers were incresingly selected (by Mussolini) as “experts” of the field, to draw new laws by decree and to implement policy decisions. The Parliament, however, did not simply rubber-stamped legislative initiatives promoted by the government: in several cases cases cooperated actively to the final drafting of laws with emendations, suggestions and advices (Melis, 2018). In this framework, the Italian economists played a significant and, until recently, largely neglected role. Overall, about twenty economists and statisticians became members of both chambers and/or of the government in the period 1924-43. This paper analyses their work in these institutions. A major point is that the majority of the economists selected by the regime (mainly by Mussolini himself) as legislators and policymakers acted indeed as “experts” (“tecnici”). The “ideologists” of corporatism played a minor role. To this aim, after reminding the institutional framework (the role of Parliament and the government during the fascist period), this paper analyses: i) The “core” (the economists who were members of the Government and members of the Parliament): Alberto De’ Stefani; Giacomo Acerbo; Arrigo Serpieri; Giuseppe Tassinari. ii) The economists at the Chamber of deputies: the residual opposition (1924-1926): Antonio Graziadei; Arturo Labriola; Angelo Mauri iii) The economists at the Chamber of deputies: the “tecnici” and the corporatists: Agostino Lanzillo; Vincenzo Ricchioni; Gaetano Zingali; Luigi Lojacono; Gino Arias; Attilio Da Empoli; Zeno Vignati; iv) The economists at the Senate Achille Loria; Luigi Einaudi; Pietro Sitta; Federico Flora (1934-43)