Habits and Expectations: Dynamic General Equilibrium in the Italian Paretian School

Abstract

Between the two world wars, the theory of general economic equilibrium received notable impetus in Italy from the work of the Paretian School. This consisted of a small, but very active, group of economists, whose best-known members at the time were Luigi Amoroso and Giulio La Volpe. One of the main aspects of the research program carried out by the followers of Pareto was their attempt to dynamize the theory of general economic equilibrium. These economists believed that research on static economics was by then complete although they were well aware that some analytical problems were still unsolved, and they advanced the construction of dynamic models using new and sophisticated mathematical tools such as functional calculus. However, despite its originality, the Paretian approach to dynamics, at least in the fields of pure theorizing, did not have a significant impact on the understanding of economic dynamics in the postwar period; we attempt to explore why.