Economic Theory and Economic Policy in the Economists' Papers of Emilia Romagna

The aim of the Bologna research team is to undertake a systematic study of the manuscript sources described in the ASE data basis for Emilia-Romagna. The team will also assess how these sources (to a great extent yet unexplored) may influence our view of the contribution of the economists in the data basis to the formation of economic theory and the discussion of economic policy. The materials in the ASE data basis for Emilia Romagna is of special significance, both in quantitative terms (see above) and in consideration of the economists included (from Scaruffi and Valeriani to Minghetti, Martello, Pareto, Bresciani Turroni, Sraffa). The ‘density’ of the archival material is such that it is now possible to undertake a new mapping of the sources for the history of economic thought, to identify new connections (and intellectual influences) among economists, and to suggest new interpretative frameworks. The ASE data basis highlights the existence of a thick communication network among economists. This network is sometimes local and sometimes cosmopolitan (as with Marco Minghetti and Tullio Martello). For example, Richard Cobden, William Gladstone and Auguste Thiers are among Minghetti’s correspondents, together with many other economists, social scientists and politicians from all over Europe. The Bologna team intends to explore this rich set of archival resources in order to highlight the specific contribution of the economists’ papers to our knowledge of economic theories and to our understanding of economic policy. In particular, the Bologna team will undertake the following set of tasks: (i) To investigate the economists’ papers kept in the archives of the Universities (Bologna, Modena, Ferrara, Parma) and of the principal learned societies of Emilia-Romagna;; (ii) To identify and investigate a number of international archives connected with economists in the ASE data basis. The team will initially consider the following archives: (a) Walras-Pareto Archive at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland; (b) (b) Shackle archive, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, UK; (c) Kaldor manuscripts, King’s College Archive, Cambridge, UK; Dobb and Sraffa manuscripts, Trinity College Library, Cambridge, UK. (iii) To identify and investigate manuscripts sources in Emilia-Romagna relative to the economists’ papers for the period 1950-1975.