Famous Italian Economists

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 1 
Vilfredo Pareto
(Economist, Writer, Philosopher, Sociologist, University teacher)
Vilfredo Pareto
4
Birthdate: July 15, 1848
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Paris
Died: August 19, 1923

A qualified civil engineer, Vilfredo Pareto had initially worked for the railways and the ironworks. However, he gradually deviated to philosophy, sociology, and politics and gained fame for his application of math to economic issues and his introduction of Pareto efficiency. Mind and Society remains his best-known work.

 2 
Pierluigi Collina
(Italian Former Football Referee)
Pierluigi Collina
6
Birthdate: February 13, 1960
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy

Named "Best Referee of the Year" by FIFA for six consecutive times, Pierluigi Collina has a degree in economics from University of Bologne. His aptitude for the job was discovered when at seventeen he took up a course in refereeing and shortly began officiating in numerous high profile matches. Although retired, he is still involved with football in various capacities.

 3 
Mario Draghi
(Economist, Banker, University teacher)
Mario Draghi
5
Birthdate: September 3, 1947
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Rome

The son of a banker father, Italian economist Mario Draghi initially served as the president of the European Central Bank and the Bank of Italy governor, and is the current prime minister of Italy. The media named him Super Mario for efficiently handling the Eurozone debt crisis.

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 4 
Cesare Beccaria
(One of the Greatest Thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment Known for His Treatise 'On Crimes and Punishments')
Cesare Beccaria
4
Birthdate: March 15, 1738
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: November 28, 1794

Cesare Beccaria was an 18th-century Italian criminologist, philosopher, jurist, and politician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. He is still remembered for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments (1764), a pioneering work in the field of penology. He is considered the father of modern criminal law. 

 5 
Mario Monti
(Prime minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013)
Mario Monti
3
Birthdate: March 19, 1943
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Varese, Italy

Born to a banker, it was no surprise that Mario Monti would choose economics and management as his university majors. The Yale alumnus later gained fame as an academic and an economist and also became the prime minister of Italy, leading his nation through the Italian debt crisis.

 6 
Romano Prodi
(Economist, Politician, University teacher)
Romano Prodi
3
Birthdate: August 9, 1939
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Scandiano

Former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi is also known as “The Professor,” having served as an economics professor at the University of Bologna. The Olive Tree Coalition leader has also previously worked with Goldman Sachs. He has also led the European Commission of the EU.

 7 
Mariana Mazzucato
(Economist)
Mariana Mazzucato
3
Birthdate: June 16, 1968
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Rome, Italy

Award-winning economist and University College London professor Mariana Mazzucato was born to a physicist father in Italy. She has also held academic posts at institutes such as the University of Sussex. She is best known for her research on economic innovation and has penned books such as The Entrepreneurial State.

 8 
Antonio Negri
(Italian Spinozistic-Marxist, Sociologist and Political Philosopher)
Antonio Negri
3
Birthdate: August 1, 1933
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Padua, Italy

Italian philosopher Antonio Negri has donned many hats, from teaching law at the University of Padua to being part of the Italian parliament. An Autonomism leader, he was accused of being part of the left-wing militant organization Red Brigades and later fled to Paris. Empire is one of his best works.

 9 
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
(Economist, Politician, Banker)
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
3
Birthdate: December 9, 1920
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Livorno
Died: September 16, 2016

Former Italian president and prime minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi had a major role in introducing Italy to the euro. He had been the governor of the Bank of Italy for 14 years and had held several portfolios, including the ministry of treasury. He was also a World War II veteran.

 10 
Franco Modigliani
(Italian-American economist and the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.)
Franco Modigliani
3
Birthdate: June 10, 1918
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Rome, Italy
Died: September 25, 2003

Best known for co-developing the Modigliani–Miller theorem, Nobel Prize-winning economist Franco Modigliani initially studied law. Son of a Jewish physician in Italy, he fled the fascist rule of his country and moved to the U.S., and later served MIT as a professor. He also laid down the life-cycle hypothesis.

 11 
Amintore Fanfani
(Politician, Diplomat, Economist, University teacher)
Amintore Fanfani
3
Birthdate: February 6, 1908
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Tuscany
Died: November 20, 1999

Five-time Italian prime minister Amintore Fanfani had also served as the acting president of his country. Initially a Catholic Action leader, he later became a professor of economic history and eventually stepped into politics. His short stature had earned him the nickname Pony, though his admirers called him Purebred Horse.

 12 
Piero Sraffa
(Founder of the Neo-Ricardian School of Economics)
Piero Sraffa
2
Birthdate: August 5, 1898
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Turin, Italy
Died: September 3, 1983
One of the greatest Italian economists, Piero Sraffa is best remembered for his iconic book Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, which established the neo-Ricardian school of economics. Born a Jew, he later became an agnostic. An London School of Economics alumnus, he later taught at Cambridge.
 13 
Ferdinando Galiani
(Italian Economist Known for His Contributions to 'Value Theory', 'Interest Theory', and 'Economic Policy')
Ferdinando Galiani
1
Birthdate: December 2, 1728
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chieti, Italy
Died: October 30, 1787

Ferdinando Galiani had initially been trained to enter church services but later deviated to economics. He is best remembered for his work on value theory. A major figure of the Enlightenment, the economist and diplomat wrote in both Italian and French. His notable works include Della moneta.

 14 
Marco Minghetti
(Prime Minister of Italy from 1873 to 1876)
Marco Minghetti
1
Birthdate: November 18, 1818
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bologna, Italy
Died: December 10, 1886
 15 
Pietro Verri
(Italian Economists, Historian, Philosopher and Writer)
Pietro Verri
1
Birthdate: December 12, 1728
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: June 28, 1797

Author of numerous literary, historical, and economic works, Pietro Verri was a leader of Milanese academy and moving force behind Società dei Pugni. Also a distinguished public administrator and political economist employed with the Milanese government, he has been credited with abolition of tax farming. Some of his important works are Riflessioni sulle leggi vincolanti and Meditazioni sull’ economia politica.

 16 
Antonio Genovesi
(Italian Philosopher and Economist)
Antonio Genovesi
1
Birthdate: November 1, 1713
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Castiglione del Genovesi, Italy
Died: September 22, 1769

Italian philosopher, political economist, and priest Antonio Genovesi initially taught metaphysics. However, his humanistic ideas and treatises were deemed heretical, which is why his Elements of Universal Christian Theology could only be published posthumously. He was one of the first to use Italian instead of Latin in his courses.

 17 
Renato Brunetta
(Economist)
Renato Brunetta
1
Birthdate: May 15, 1950
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Venice, Italy

The son of a Venetian souvenir vendor, Renato Brunetta taught himself classics as a young boy. Both an economist and a politician, he now serves as the Italian minister of public administration. He has also taught labor economics and has written for various newspapers and publications, including his journal Labour.

 18 
Enrico Barone
(Italian Economist Who Expanded on the Concepts of 'General Equilibrium')
Enrico Barone
1
Birthdate: December 22, 1859
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Naples, Italy
Died: May 14, 1924

Initially an army officer Enrico Barone taught military history at the Officers’ Training School before he became a professor at the University of Rome. An avid economist, too, he contributed to the journal Giornale degli Economisti and is best remembered for his work on economic equilibrium.

 19 
Quintino Sella
(Former Minister of Finance of Italy)
Quintino Sella
0
Birthdate: July 7, 1827
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mosso, Italy
Died: March 14, 1884

After studying engineering and mineralogy, Quintino Sella taught math and mineralogy for a while before stepping into politics. He later served as the minister of finance of a newly unified Italy. Sella also convinced King Victor Emmanuel II to make Rome the capital after the French withdrew from the city.