Federico Caffè (born 6 January 1914; disappeared 15 April 1987; declared dead 30 October 1998) was a notable

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the 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 field there are ...

from the Keynesian School.

Early life

Caffè graduated in Business Sciences from the

University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

in 1936. After World War II, he spent one year in the

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studying at the

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. During that period, he came in contact with the

Keynesian Economics Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output a ...

and saw up close the policies implemented by the then Labour government. Back in Italy, he started his career working at the

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, later becoming a teacher at the

University of Messina The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the wor ...

. From 1959 he taught Economic and Financial Policy at the

, forming several generations of economists in what is the largest university in Italy.

Career

Caffè mentored several generations of Italian economists, many of whom rose to senior positions in academia, political life and public administration. In different capacities he mentored the former Governor of the

, and of the ECB President, and Italian incumbent Prime Minister Professor

Mario Draghi Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian economist, academic, banker and civil servant who served as prime minister of Italy from February 2021 to October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he served as President of ...

, the current Governor of the

Ignazio Visco Ignazio Visco (; born 21 November 1949) is an Italian economist and central banker and the current Governor of the Bank of Italy. Early life and education Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949. He obtained a '' summa cum laude'' degree ...

, the planning theorist Franco Archibugi, the welfare economist Bruno Amoroso, the labour economist

Ezio Tarantelli Ezio is an Italian masculine name, originating from the Latin name ''Aetius''. It may refer to: * Flavius Aetius (c. 396–454), Roman general, after whom Metastasio's libretto and all the operas below are named. ** Ezio (libretto), opera libretto ...

, killed by the

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in 1985 in the courtyard of the Faculty of Economics in

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where they taught, the former President of the Italian Statistical Office Guido M. Rey, the former President of the Italian Statistical Office and incumbent Minister for Infrastructures

Enrico Giovannini Enrico Giovannini (born 6 June 1957) is an Italian economist, statistician and academic, member of the Club of Rome. Since February 2021, he has been serving as Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility in the Draghi Government. Fr ...

, the Economic policy's theorist

Nicola Acocella Nicola Acocella (born 3 July 1939) is an Italian economist and academic, Emeritus Professor of Economic Policy since 2014. In 1963 he graduated in Economics from the “Sapienza University of Rome” with a thesis on ‘''Time lags in economic p ...

, the neo-ricardian economist

Fernando Vianello Fernando Vianello (17 August 1939 – 10 August 2009) was an Italian economist and academic. Together with Michele Salvati, Sebastiano Brusco, Andrea Ginzburg and Salvatore Biasco, he founded the Faculty of Economics of the University of Modena a ...

and economist of innovation

Daniele Archibugi Daniele Archibugi (born 17 July 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian economic and political theorist. He works on the economics and policy of innovation and technological change, on the political theory of international relations and on political ...

Views

Caffè was particularly interested in economic policy and welfare, especially in their social dimensions. One of his books, ''Lezioni di politica economica'' (Lectures on Economic Policy), is widely regarded as the complete summary of his ideas. He was a strong critic of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

, avowedly

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...

in inspiration, and also very interested in the

Scandinavian welfare model The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden). This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level co ...

Disappearance

On 15 April 1987 Caffè suddenly disappeared, shortly after having quit university teaching. He was "officially declared dead" on 30 October 1998. The mystery involved in his death has not been revealed. He may have committed suicide, but he may also have decided to disappear to an unknown location.

Memorials

Several institutions have been named after him, including the Faculty of Economics of the University of Rome III, the

Roskilde University Roskilde University ( da, Roskilde Universitet, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD ...

Centre for Southern European Studies and the Library of the Department of Economics of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Sapienza University of Rome. The Aula Magna of Pescara University is called Federico Caffè also. The

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...

also organizes annual conference that have been held by some of the most significant economists of our age. Many of the lectures have been published in a series of the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

.Cambridge University Press Federico Caffè Lectures, edited by Nicola Acocella and Mario Tiberi
/ref>

Bibliography

Main works published by Federico Caffè

* ''Saggi sulla moderna "economia del benessere"'', (editor), Boringhieri, Torino (1956) * ''Economisti moderni'', (editor), Garzanti, Milano (1962); reprinted, Laterza, Bari, (1971). * ''Politica economica'', Boringhieri, Torino (1966 e 1970 - two volumes) * ''Teorie e problemi di politica sociale'', Laterza, Bari (1970) * ''Un'economia in ritardo'', Boringhieri, Torino (1976) * ''Lezioni di politica economica'', Bollati Boringhieri, Torino (1978) * ''L'economia contemporanea. I protagonisti e altri saggi'', Edizioni Studium, Roma (1981) * ''In difesa del welfare state'', Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino (1986). New and augmented version, 2014, edited by Paolo Ramazzotti,

Works published after his disappearance

* ''La solitudine del riformista'', Bollati Boringhieri, Torino (1990), Edited by

and Maurizio Franzini, * ''Scritti quotidiani'', Manifestolibri, Roma (2007), ; which collects the writings he published on the newspaper il manifesto from 1976 to 1985. * ''Contro gli incappucciati della finanza. Tutti gli scritti: Il Messaggero 1974-1986, L'Ora, 1983-1987'', Edited by Giuseppe Amari, Castelvecchi, Roma, 2013. * ''La dignità del lavoro'', a cura di Giuseppe Amari, Castelvecchi, Roma, 2014,

Notes

Sources

* Acocella, N. (5th edition ed.), ''"F. Caffé, Lezioni di politica economica"'', Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1990, . * Acocella, N., ''"In difesa del welfare state, dieci anni dopo"'', in: Acocella, N. & Rey, G. M. & Tiberi, M. (eds), ''"Saggi di politica economica in onore di Federico Caffè"'', vol. III, Franco Angeli, Milano, 1999. *

''Federico Caffè, solitario maestro''
Micromega, n. 2, (1991) *

Ermanno Rea Ermanno Rea (28 July 1927 – 13 September 2016) was an Italian novelist, essayist and journalist. Life and career Rea was born in Naples. During World War II, he was a partisan of the Garibaldi Brigade "Gino Menconi". After the war, he starte ...

, ''L'ultima lezione'', Einaudi, Turin (1992) * Riccardo Faucci, "L'economia per frammenti di Federico Caffè", ''Rivista italiana degli economisti'', n. 3 (2002) * Bruno Amoroso, ''La stanza rossa - Riflessioni scandinave di Federico Caffè'', Edizioni Città Aperta, Troina (Enna), (2004) * Giuseppe Amari (editor), ''Federico Caffè: un economista per il nostro tempo'', Roma, Ediesse, 2009.

External links

* Profile of Federico Caffè at the Department of Public Economics of

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A biography of Federico Caffè (from the Roskilde University website)
* http://giuseppecapograssi.wordpress.com/2012/11/13/federico-caffe-un-economista-per-gli-uomini-comuni-audio/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Caffe, Federico 1914 births 1987 deaths 1980s missing person cases 20th-century Italian economists Keynesian economics Missing person cases in Italy People from Pescara Sapienza University of Rome alumni Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Academic staff of the University of Messina People declared dead in absentia