Italian Economics and Fascism: an Institutional View

Being and economist under a totalitarian regime is highly problematic. This chapter presents the approach and internal structure of the book, which represents the first general attempt to examine the relationships between economics and dictatorships in the case of Italian Fascism. The chapter illustrates the institutional approach adopted in the book, its previous applications, and how it can highlight the problems faced by the economics profession under the Fascist regime. The chapter ends up explaining the organisation of the book, which systematically reconstructs all aspects of the economists’ scientific and public life and of their relationships with power. The chapter must be read jointly with ch. 2 to obtain a general appraisal of the problems that the book attempts to analyse.