Giovanni De Francisci Gerbino tra protezionismo e liberismo: una nota (Giovanni De Francisci Gerbino's thought between protectionism and laissez-faire: a note)

In this paper we analyze the role played by Giovanni De Francisci Gerbino – a prominent Sicilian economist – in the debate on corporative economic theory. Although this theory has deeply characterized the period between the two world wars in Italy as well as the Italian economic theory in the years following WWII, it has been largely ignored by the traditional history of economic ideas. This was due basically to the strict relationships between corporative economic theory and Fascism. In order to analyze the thought of Giovanni De Francisci Gerbino we focus on the theoretical path that he followed during his research. As shown, his studies were always addressed to free market issues. In particular he argues that the corporative economy may be considered as a particular and transitory economic system, which sooner or later will leave the playground to free market. Lastly, with his theories Giovanni De Francisci Gerbino may be considered as the forerunner of several modern research fields on public economics, where the government’s choice represents a synthesis between private and public interests.