Luigi Einaudi was an authoritative Italian economist and a leading representative of economic and political liberalism in Europe. After the Second World War, he became governor of the Bank of Italy and President of the Italian Republic. This paper analyses his role as opinion maker from the end of the Nineteenth century till the 1920s, when he was a leading columnist at ‘La Stampa’ and the ‘Corriere della Sera’, the most influential newspapers in Italy at that time. It focuses on the scope and limits of Einaudi’s efforts to broaden consensus among the Italian public opinion on the principles of economic liberalism and free competition. To this end, it investigates Einaudi’s journalistic style, his views on the role of the newspapers and his large following among the public. Further sections analyze the main issues tackled by Einaudi in his articles in the Corriere and the systematic work of propaganda he enacted during World War I to convince the Italian households to reduce consumption and to finance the military expenditure. A final section deals with the “reconstruction program” devised by Einaudi in the early 1920s with the aim of restoring price stability and fiscal restraint, his efforts to propagate this program in the Corriere and his defeat after the beginning of the fascist regime in 1924-25.

THE ECONOMISTS AND THE PRESS IN ITALY FROM THE END OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY UNTIL FASCISM: THE CASE OF LUIGI EINAUDI

PAVANELLI GIOVANNI
2023-01-01

Abstract

Luigi Einaudi was an authoritative Italian economist and a leading representative of economic and political liberalism in Europe. After the Second World War, he became governor of the Bank of Italy and President of the Italian Republic. This paper analyses his role as opinion maker from the end of the Nineteenth century till the 1920s, when he was a leading columnist at ‘La Stampa’ and the ‘Corriere della Sera’, the most influential newspapers in Italy at that time. It focuses on the scope and limits of Einaudi’s efforts to broaden consensus among the Italian public opinion on the principles of economic liberalism and free competition. To this end, it investigates Einaudi’s journalistic style, his views on the role of the newspapers and his large following among the public. Further sections analyze the main issues tackled by Einaudi in his articles in the Corriere and the systematic work of propaganda he enacted during World War I to convince the Italian households to reduce consumption and to finance the military expenditure. A final section deals with the “reconstruction program” devised by Einaudi in the early 1920s with the aim of restoring price stability and fiscal restraint, his efforts to propagate this program in the Corriere and his defeat after the beginning of the fascist regime in 1924-25.
2023
45
4
576
602
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-history-of-economic-thought/article/economists-and-the-press-in-italy-from-the-end-of-the-nineteenth-century-until-fascism-the-case-of-luigi-einaudi/00D0A542E017BA6F43D963C104F9AC2A#
Italian Economic Thought, Luigi Einaudi, Public Opinion, Economists as Opinion Makers, Value Judgements in Economics, Economic Liberalism, War Economy
PAVANELLI GIOVANNI
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1943934
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