Giacomo Becattini, 1927-2017

This year the Italian economist Giacomo Becattini passed away. He reached international fame by starting the literature on so-called Marshallian industrial districts. Becattini developed the concept while empirically studying the economy of the province of Prato, in Tuscany, and discussed the main implications in terms of analysis of the Italian economy and economic policy. However, before this stage of his career, which started around the ‘70s, Becattini authored several interesting works in the fields of economic theory and methodology, as well as in the history of economic thought. In all phases of his long career, he always cared about the implications of his analyses for the public debate and the political culture of the country