IRPET mourns the passing of Giacomo Becattini, founder and first director of the Institute.
While still a young scholar, and having already been the author of numerous internationally renowned contributions, he founded IRPET, and was its director from 1968 to 1973. It was this experience that gave birth to fundamental works in the study of the economic development of our country. Inspired by the concept of Marshallian industrial district, he identified the specificity of the Italian post-war development model in the local systems of strongly interconnected small firms.
Many of us remember him as their professor, others – only a few – as their director, all of us recognize him as a teacher. His broad scientific contribution, his constant encouragements and, above all, the incessant reminder not to forget the social function of economic research will always be alive in our memory.
