SILVIO BERETTA e RENATA TARGETTI LENTI

Libero Lenti e il dibattito sulla politica economica in Italia. Dalla ricostruzione alla programmazione

N. 206

Summary —   This article analyses Libero Lenti's contribution to the building process of Italian economic policy with particolar reference to the planning process in the postwar period. Lenti's work is discussed within the historical context of the prevalent economic doctrines of the time. This comparison shows how and why in Italy the introduction of modern economic instruments of policy planning was a long and laborious process which can be partially explained by the familiarity of Italian economists with neoclassical thought.  The article covers the academic and civil experience of Libero Lenti  (1906-1993) during the 1940s and 1950s. It is emphasized that his entry into the Milan environment (at the Bocconi University and at the research department of Snia Viscosa) contributed to bringing about what was a constant feature of his research activity:  the close attention to facts, empirical verification and the relevance of theory in the explanation of economic phenomena and in policy formation. Participation in the preparation of  the political economy documents in the 1950s, the foundation of numerous institutions, like the ISCO, the newspaper 24 Ore, and the bi-weekly Mondo Economico bear witness to these principles and commitment.   His participation in Planning Commissions (from Vanoni to Papi's Commissions) was very important to the progress of economic policies from the beginning of the post-war period, and contributed significantly to the progress of economic studies in Italy. In the early 1940s, during the war,  Lenti wrote an unpublished study, a real Reconstruction Plan, on the lines that Italy should have had follow in order to rebuild her productive capacity and to reach full employment after the war was ended. Lenti's approach to planning,  and  more  generally  to  political economy, and his contribution to the building of important policy documents, are fully explored in the article.