The Giornale degli economisti e Annali di economia, established in Padua in 1875, is an Italian academic journal of economics. It publishes research articles in English and Italian. The owner of the publication is Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi and it is published by Egea, the university's publishing house.
History First series (Paduan series) The inception of the journal dates back to April 1875 when the Associazione per il progresso degli studi economici in Italia decided to turn the Rassegna di agricoltura, industria e commercio of the Società di incoraggiamento di Padova in its official organ. The title chosen for the new journal was Giornale degli economisti. Eugenio Forti was confirmed as its director . In the early issues of the journal writers would include Fedele Lampertico, Luigi Luzzatti, Antonio Scialoja, that is to say the most eminent names of the newly formed association.The economists congress during which the association was founded was held in Milan from 4 to 6 January 1875. Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p.18
The main themes of the Giornale degli economisti are the social sciences, but there are also articles on economic theory. The orientation of the journal is in defense of protectionism and in favor of legislative action in the field of social security and labor protection. The most discussed issue is that of women and child labor in factories. Luzzatti, who had also sponsored an industrial survey from Italian Parliament,Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 21 wrote several times on these topics.La legislazione sociale nel parlamento inglese, "Giornale degli economisti", apr. 1875; La libertà economica ed il lavoro dei fanciulli e delle fanciulle nelle fabbriche, "Giornale degli economisti", ago. 1875; Il lavoro dei fanciulli, "Giornale degli economisti", mar. 1876 Between 1876 and 1878, the Giornale degli economisti published both a review of legislation in other European countries on women and child labor, and several investigations on the working conditions in several Italian cities. The journal, on the basis of military, health and moral considerations, called for legislative action in order to limit the work of married women and children. At least a law prohibiting employment for married women in the period immediately before and after childbirth was requested.Massimo Finoia, La Questione femminile attraverso il «Giornale degli economisti», 1875–1935, "Giornale degli economisti e Annali di economia", set.-dic. 1991, p. 525-527 The journal's requests were in open opposition to the Società Adam Smith's dominant liberal views as expressed in its official journal: the weekly Florentine journal L'Economista.As for the debate between the two schools see Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 17-22 During those years consensus around Smithian free trade increased and the Giornale degli economisti ended up being cut off. The journal and its economists were perceived as austere but antiquated, "dressed up in winter clothes during summer weather."Tullio Bagiotti, Storia della Università Bocconi, Milano, Università Bocconi, 1952, p. 178 As a consequence, in 1879, only four years after its inception, the publication of the Giornale degli economisti ended.
Second series (Bologna and Rome series) Publication of the Giornale degli economisti resumed in Bologna in 1886 by Alberto Zorli. Zorli was then lecturer in public finance at the University of Bologna, and there had the idea to start up the Padua journal once again. According to his plans, "while remaining faithful to the principles of the Padua journal, this Bologna journal would particularly aim to settle controversies among economists, and to become a real gym for all opinions but subversive opinions."Alberto Zorli, Breve storia della prima serie del "Giornale degli economisti" di Roma, "Giornale degli economisti e Annali di economia", gen.-feb. 1939, p. 110 The new journal would soon receive support by many of the leading Italian economists. The frequency went from bi-monthly to monthly and a few years later the management of the journal moved to Rome, even though printing continued to rely on the Fava & Garagnani typography in Bologna. The aim of the new series was increasingly to promote a comparison between protectionists and free traders. Next to protectionists Eugenio Forti and Fedele Lampertico, the Giornale degli economisti added new signatures of the Società Adam Smith founder Tullio Martello and the brilliant young liberal Maffeo Pantaleoni. Pantaleoni worked on the journal's financial review page as well.Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 125 The conciliatory formula for "gym of ideas" proved successful and after a few years the Giornale degli economisti ceased to be unprofitable.Alberto Zorli, Breve storia della prima serie del "Giornale degli economisti" di Roma, "Giornale degli economisti e Annali di economia", gen.-feb. 1939, p. 110 But soon the journal's editorial line changed. In 1890 Zorli was joined in management by Maffeo Pantaleoni, Antonio De Viti De Marco and Ugo Mazzola, the three of them also acquiring 3/4 of the journal's property. The three had long entertained the idea of creating a new journal close to the Marginalist economic school of which the three of them were members. They decided, however, to give up the idea, focusing instead upon the Zorli journal.Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 54-55 The difference in orientation between the directors was evident and soon Zorli would end up being more and more marginalized. In short, the first director realized that he was "a fish out of water," the newspaper got out of his hand and the proximity to Marginalism became more marked each year.Zorli writes "In the fifth year [...] decided to associate in the direction of the journal the active work of other colleagues, and so I joined a few personal friends, especially to Maffeo Pantaleoni, trusting that he would help me maintain the character of the Journal as a scientific gym; but in the long run I realized in the journal I was becoming like ... a fish out of water, as the Journal each year more and more accentuated its new character of a single organ of propaganda, propaganda that the English school", Alberto Zorli, Breve storia della prima serie del "Giornale degli economisti" di Roma, "Giornale degli economisti e Annali di economia", gen.-feb. 1939, p. 111 The political orientation of the Giornale degli economisti changed as well. It became liberal, anti-protectionist and anti-socialist. The journal supported the positions of the Associazione economica liberale italiana whose president was Pantaleoni. Editors of the Giornale degli economisti opposed the customs tariffOn the opposition articles: Maffeo Pantaleoni, Come il governo volendo giovare all'industria vinicola sia riuscito a danneggiarla, "Giornale degli economisti", ago. 1890; Antonio De Viti de Marco, La fallacia di una legislazione internazionale limitatrice del lavoro, "Giornale degli economisti", ago. 1890 and the traditional historical left's trade wars with France. They sympathized with Napoleone Colajanni and the extreme political leftItalo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 70 in contrast with Francesco Crispi. They fought strenuously against Crispi during the Banca Romana scandal.Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 70-109 There was a new purpose in style as well: the journal was committed to "dealing with as much as [we can] topical issues of art and economic, with special attention to the problems of economic policy that are stirred up in Italy [...] pure science is not excluded. It is simply not at the forefront".From a letter by Pantaleoni. Cit. in Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 p. 70 Consistent with the new line, a new Cronaca politica page was inserted into the journal. The page was edited by Mazzola first and then, from 1893, by Vilfredo Pareto. During those years, the most successful period of the Giornale degli economisti began. Yet both Pareto and Pantaleoni suffered oppositions and hostilities in their academic careers for their anti-government and intransigent positions in the journal.Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 90-97 Fellowship between the authors that had made the success of the Giornale degli economisti broke during last years of the century. Mazzola died in 1899, when he was only 35 years old, Pantaleoni started to walk away,Pantaleoni writes to Colajanni on April, 16th, 1897: "My relationship with Giornale degli economisti is not as before. De Viti runs the journal and runs it as he wants." Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 209 and Pareto's collaboration stopped as well after being accused for his Cronaca politica page "of injuring rather than reasoning, and therefore unconvincing."This is De Viti De Marco's judgment. Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 209 Starting in 1897 De Viti De Marco remained virtually the only director of the journal. The journal's editorial policy was revised, only short articles were published with issues not exceeding 90 pages. Furthermore, the Giornale degli economisti lessened the liberalism that had distinguished it in recent years. So wide was the change that, during 1900, in part due to looming financial difficulties, a merger with the journal that for many years had been opposing it seemed possible: La riforma sociale.Italo Magnani, Dibattito fra economisti italiani di fine Ottocento, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003 , p. 260
Third series (Rome Series) In the first decade of the twentieth century the journal, increasingly less committed to political analysis, opened its pages to the collaboration of a new generation of scholars. In 1910 the ownership of the journal was purchased by Alberto Beneduce and Giorgio Mortara, who, together with Pantaleoni, would also assume the journal management. This is how the third series of the journal started, and to the title "Rivista di statistica" was added. And it is quite understandable: both Beneduce that Mortara were statisticians and the use of quantitative methods for dealing with economic problems was increasing. Beneduce had started to work with the journal in 1904, with articles on demography and statistics. Then, attracted by politics, he walked away from academic studies and from the journal, even if formally retaining its co-direction. Mortara instead kept on directing the journal and managed to move it out of the difficult financial period following the First World War.Libero Lenti, Il «Giornale degli economisti» compie cento anni, "Nuova Antologia", ott.-dic. 1986, fasc. 2160,, p. 102 Despite budget difficulties Mortara managed to keep up the international scientific prestige of the journal while managing to attract new famous foreign collaborators such as Eugen Slutsky.Eugen Slutsky, Sulla teoria del bilancio del consumatore, "Giornale degli economisti", lug. 1915
Fourth series (Milan series)