From economic history to the economics of history? (On the book by A. S. Skorobogatov “Society as a contract between the strong and the weak: Essays on the economics of history”)

Reflections on the new book, which focuses on the “economics of history”, give a glimpse on the complex relationships between historians exploring development of economic life and economists seeking to apply methods of economic analysis to rethink historical knowledge. The reviewed book by A. Skorobogatov is an apt example of the difficulties faced by an academic economist who has decided to contribute to the analysis of the history of social development. On the one hand, this book is innovative, being the first example in Russia of a systemic neoinstitutional approach to history. On the other hand, Skorobogatov offers a few controversial speculations, which will be ambiguously perceived by many readers (especially historians). The review concludes that the book lays the appropriate creative groundwork to continue developing the new (for Russia) direction of economic history research.

Dalle origini del capitalismo all’ordinamento corporativo

Before rising to political prominence in the post-war Italian Republic as one of the defining leaders of the Christian Democracy, Amintore Fanfani distinguished himself as an academic economist and economic historian. Trained at the Università Cattolica in Milan, he was a pupil of its founder and rector, Agostino Gemelli. The essay examines Fanfani’s writings, starting from his dissertation, which addressed the role of religion in the origins of capitalism and discussed Marx’s and Weber’s views. In this and his following articles, reviews and books, during the thirties, Fanfani argued in favour of the subordination of economic activity to superior moral ends provided by religion. Such a ‘voluntaristic’ perspective was embodied by the corporatist experiment. Following in the footsteps of Gemelli’s proposal of an alliance between Catholicism and Fascism, Fanfani went on to support many aspects of the regime, notably its imperial wars in Africa.

About Doing the Right Thing as an Academic Economist

This chapter argues that the art of phronesis is central to doing the right thing as an economist. Phronesis, or practical wisdom, is what we practice when we deliberate, weigh values, take into account our feelings and those of others, consider the circumstances, and grope for the right thing to do. Central to phronesis is figuring out the goods to strive for and the appropriate means to realize those goods. We argue that the goods can be categorized into personal goods, social goods, societal goods, and transcendental goods. An important choice that any economist faces is which conversation to join, to which part of economics he wishes to contribute. We argue that situating ourselves in a university department, in the search for truth and truth only, is an important moral choice, with consequences for the goods we can realize.

Book Reviews

Stephane Hallegatte of World Bank reviews “Disasters and the Networked Economy”, by J. M. Albala-Bertrand. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the roles of societal networking and disaster localization in the framework of understanding disaster effect and responses. Discusses the problem with quantitative studies; a political economy framework—functionality, localization, and networks; networked reactions and public policy; the networked macroeconomy and disasters; regional disaggregation and two examples; and systemic consistency, business, and network shifting. Albala-Bertrand is an academic economist at Queen Mary, University of London.”

The Role of the Academic Economist in Litigation Support

No abstract available.