Eva Colorni (1941–1985) was an Italian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. Eva Colorni was born in Italy in 1941 to

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

activists Eugenio Colorni and

Ursula Hirschmann Ursula Hirschmann (2 September 1913 – 8 January 1991) was a German anti-fascist activist and an advocate of European federalism. Life and career Hirschmann was born into a middle-class Jewish family to Carl Hirschmann and Hedwig Marcuse in B ...

. Her father was a socialist philosopher, while her mother was a German-born economist that had fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Her father was killed by fascists during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Her mother remarried

Altiero Spinelli Altiero Spinelli (31 August 1907 – 23 May 1986) was an Italian politician, political theorist and European federalist, referred to as one of the founding fathers of the European Union. A communist and militant anti-fascist in his youth, he spe ...

, who became Colorni's stepfather. Colorni attended the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

and then began teaching. She moved to India where she taught at the

Delhi School of Economics Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as "D School", is a Higher Educational Institution within the University of Delhi. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establ ...

. She then moved to England. Colorni began dating

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...

, with whom she moved to

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

in 1973. They married in 1978 and had two children together. After being diagnosed with cancer, she continued to teach for nearly two additional terms. She died of stomach cancer in 1985. Colorni was influential on Sen's work, directing his attention to "practical issues of importance". She is credited with her influence on both her husband and on her uncle

Albert O. Hirschman Albert Otto Hirschman (born ''Otto-Albert Hirschmann''; April 7, 1915 – December 10, 2012) was a German economist and the author of several books on political economy and political ideology. His first major contribution was in the area of de ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorni, Eva 1941 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Italian economists Italian economists Italian women economists