Railway Systems and the 'Universal Good of the State': Technologies of Government in the 19th-Century Papal State

Informed by Foucault’s concept of governmentality, the paper focuses on nineteenth-century General Commissariat for the Railroad Industry in the Papal State. Unlike in liberal States, where government intervention in the affairs of railway companies was limited, the pressing need to reinforce the Pope’s pastoral power, strengthen the bond between the believers and the Holy See and ensure equity and the efficiency of the new infrastructure meant that the Commissariat acted as a governmental centre of calculation. Accounting technologies in the form of budgets, cost accounting systems and penetrating audits enabled the government to intervene in the operations of private railway companies. The study analyses the role of accounting and auditing practices in the pursuit of non-liberal goals in an industry which is traditionally perceived as critical to the development of a liberal economy, one in which accounting was traditionally used to maintain investors’ confidence in the capitalist system

La Comit e l'Iri nella visione di Mattioli

Le posizioni del banchieri Raffaele Mattioli nei confronti dell'Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industrial

Going beyond borders? : An ongoing research project on business in European integration

The article discuss a research project on businesses in European economic integration, based on new sources and methodolog

Guglielmo Reiss Romoli

Profilo biografico del Manager pubblico Guglielmo Reiss Romol

The European enterprise as a key-player in the European economic model. A historical perspective

The enterprise is a key player in the European economic model. An analysis in historical perspective can contribute to better define its identity, helping the implementation of effectual industrial policies during the actual of economic crisis and political divergences within the Union. In my article I present the results of a collective research, still in progress, aiming to identify the native characters - a kind of genetic code - of the European enterprise since the end of 19th century. Despite the differences between the various models of capitalism, we attempt to verify the existence of at least four genetic traits common to the sample of firms studied in major European countries. In our research hypothesis, the “genetic code” of European enterprise is influenced by at least one or more of these four elements: A) Contractual cooperation, cartels and concerted practices. B) Personal or family business, determining the diffusion and relevance of small and medium firms. C) Active role of substitutive factors: the State and the universal bank. D) Strong influence of the workers and their organization

Inseparabili : lo Stato, il mercato e l'ombra di Colbert

La gravissima crisi finanziaria iniziata nel 2007 i ha richiamato in causa l’intervento delle istituzioni pubbliche, nazionali e sovranazionali. Nel volume propone quindi riflessioni con una prospettiva di lungo periodo sul complesso rapporto tra Stato e mercato. Questi si rivelano, al di là di ogni schematismo, due attori inseparabili dello scenario economico e sociale.Il volume raccoglie le riflessioni di storici ed economisti intorno a questi temi