From Economic Theory to Policymaking: The Case of Beniamino Andreatta

Abstract

Beniamino Andreatta was an economist who served as a politician at the highest levels of Italy’s government. He was an outsider in academic economics, an eclectic economist interested to the attainment of common good in a perspective inspired by Catholic social doctrine. Andreatta was a supporter of Keynesianism and Post-Keynesianism, but he included some elements of classical and Schumpeterian thought to elaborate his original theory of economic development. On the other hand, he was uncommon in politics because he was quite an independent intellectual, not inclined to easily adhere to what was considered the common view. His contribution to the political debate was based on the knowledge of facts and attention to existing experiences; he brought economic expertise to his political activity. One of Andreatta’s principal merits was the systematic dissemination of scientific knowledge to policymaking. He founded think tanks and promoted worldwide scientific collaborations to apply the economic argumentations to the everyday political activity in Italy because he believed on the necessity of a bold connection between theory and policy. Consequently, he had an uncompromised approach to policymaking that looked to long run objectives. In this perspective, he was the promoter of several orthodox policies, such as the central bank independence reform.