According to Plato, thymòs—a notion denoting the human need for recognition—triggers off the most powerful and overwhelming human passions. Indeed, any action originated and nurtured by thymòtic passions places its own raison d’être in itself. The acts motivated by thymòs can either...

According to Plato, thymòs – a notion denoting the human need for recognition – triggers off the most powerful and overwhelming human passions. Indeed, any action originated and nurtured by thymòtic passions places its own raison d’être in itself. The acts motivated by thymòs can...

Italy is driving along a historical glide path. The main reason lies in the fact that in the country, especially in the last three decades, has experienced an extreme form of resistance to change. Everyone, when defecting, prefers that others defect as well, instead of cooperating. This...

This article discusses Alvin Roth’s research about moneyless markets, and in particular about the manner in which kidneys are allocated to patients needing transplants. As Titmuss pointed out for blood transfusions, providing monetary incentives to blood donors may crowd out supply, since...

We focus on a ‘local style’ of political economy in Italy, not in order to compare the characteristics of scholars of economics from different national backgrounds, but rather to address the actual ways in which the profession of the economist was conceived and practised in a place that...

Without the passions there would be little reason to act at all. Nevertheless, in standard economic models human action is driven solely by self-interest: the passions are supposed to interfere with our ability to form rational beliefs and to make rational choices. In fact, any action originated...

Indivisibilities are at the core of economic theory as rarely individuals can or want to limitlessly divide goods, inputs and activities, as well as related economic phenomena such as economies of scale, externalities and public goods. Indivisibilities help in explaining conflicts over social...

Drawing on actual reinterpretation of Mauss’s classical essay on “the Gift”, the authors examine four ideal-typical forms of gift which recur in the anthropologic literature, and theoretically analyze them under relevant contemporary phenomena. Kula - as reciprocity gift-, Potlach – as...

In questo saggio intendiamo discutere la questione del tempo libero nel capitalismo alla luce della problematica della liberazione dal e del lavoro (par. 1). Nel far ciò, dopo aver criticato la concezione dell’essere umano propria della scienza economica, proporremo l’abbozzo di una...

Idealtipicamente, l’impresa è sociale se offre, con un impegno vincolante di governance, i servizi dei commons e i merit goods, impiegando in maniera non privatistica la maggior parte degli eventuali profitti. Questa definizione viene argomentata discutendo le caratteristiche dei beni...