Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Author-Name: Giuseppe Della Torre
Author-Email:
Author-Workplace-Name: Università degli Studi di Siena
Author-Name: Maria Carmela Schisani
Author-Email:
Author-Workplace-Name: Università degli Studi di Napoli «Federico II» - Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche
Title: Risanamento finanziario, crescita economica e promozione del risparmio: le casse postali nei progetti di Quintino Sella (1862-1877)
(Financial recovery, economic growth and saving-promotion policies. The postal savings banks in Quintino Sella's projects (1862-1877))
Abstract: Repeatedly minister of Finance, besides being deputy, Quintino Sella had a key role in the financial
policy of the Italian liberal governments during the first fifteen-year period after the political unification. He acted both through a complex and overall vision of the financial system, supporting – without
success – the project for centralizing land credit and unifying issuing banks; aiming harshly at reducing
public deficit and realizing a public system to manage savings through the postal savings banks
and the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. Sella’s point of view – based on his strong pragmatism – reminds
some aspects of the modern growth theory and its relationships with financial institutions development.
We refer to the need of increasing national savings and their mobilization, in order to fund infrastructures
essential for economic and social development, through State intervention so favouring
the transition between a stage of financial underdevelopment to an upper stage (characterized by a
sharper separation between investors and savers). All these general topics were well integrated in
Sella’s view and merged in his project on postal savings banks. On this idea we want to give a more
articulate reading of this project, highlighting how financial dynamics (stimulus to financial savings)
and economic dynamics (private and public capital accumulation) balanced each other in Sella’s view,
consistently both with his public role and his personal experience as entrepreneur.
Classification-JEL: N23, B31
Keywords: Quintino Sella; postal savings bank; public finance (Quintino Sella; casse postali; finanza pubblica)
Journal: Il Pensiero Economico Italiano
Pages: 47-66
Volume: 21
Issue: 1
Year: 2013
File-URL: http://www.libraweb.net/articoli.php?chiave=201306301&rivista=63
Handle: RePEc:pei:journl:v:21:y:2013:1:4:p:47-66