Il metodo della scienza economica e il ruolo dell'economista: il contributo di Ferdinando di Fenizio

This essay examines the contribution of the Italian economist Ferdinando di Fenizio (1906-1974), with particular reference to the debate on the methodology of economics and the role of the economist in contemporary societies. After outlining the principal features of the author’s scientific and professional biography, it focuses on three central themes: the method of political economy, the principle of the autonomy of macroeconomics, and the relevance of value judgements in economic research. With regard to methodology, it highlights di Fenizio’s view of economics as an empirical science, grounded in the formulation of “guiding hypotheses” and their experimental verification, developed in critical dialogue with the thought of Oskar Morgenstern and Karl Popper. The essay then explores di Fenizio’s defence of the autonomy of macroeconomics in opposition to the so-called ‘microfoundations’ of macroeconomic phenomena. It further emphasises his recognition of the heuristic validity of J.M. Keynes’ General Theory and in particular of the Keynesian short-run theory of consumption, as it is susceptible of empirical testing. Finally, the essay examines di Fenizio’s critique of the alleged value neutrality of economics, his proposal for an explicit declaration of underlying value premises and his emphasis on the complexity of the contemporary economist’s role as scholar, teacher, adviser and ‘mediator of values’.