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  • © 2021

The Liberal Heart of Europe

Essays in Memory of Alberto Giovannini

Palgrave Macmillan
  • Highlights the role liberal (pro-market) ideas played in the early developments of the European Union

  • Showcases Alberto Giovannini's vast legacy in the world of economic studies and ideas

  • Looks at the intellectual and political genesis of the European Union, focusing especially on its relationship to classical liberalism

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxv
  2. Introduction

    • Francesco Giavazzi, Francesco Lefebvre D’Ovidio, Alberto Mingardi
    Pages 1-11
  3. Some Introductory Thoughts

    • Alberto Giovannini
    Pages 13-21
  4. The European “Postwar Consensus” and the European Project

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 23-23
    2. Hayek’s Europe: The Austrian School and European Federalism

      • Dalibor Rohac, Alberto Mingardi
      Pages 67-80
    3. The Monnet Method and the Obsolescence of the EU

      • John R. Gillingham III
      Pages 81-89
  5. The Evolution of the European Project in the 1980s: How Liberalization Affected Europe

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 91-91
  6. Our Current Predicament

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 119-119
    2. The Euro in Perspective

      • John B. Taylor
      Pages 121-133
    3. Dealing with the Covid Debt Overhang

      • Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Francesco Giavazzi
      Pages 135-142
    4. Globalization and Its Critics

      • Leszek H. Balcerowicz
      Pages 143-161
    5. The Great Recession and the Future of the EU

      • Edmond Alphandéry
      Pages 163-174
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 175-177

About this book

Was the European Union ever a liberal dream? How did the common market impact the liberalization in its member states? Has the EU fostered more or less economic freedom in the Old Continent?

This book explores the intellectual and political genesis of the European Union, focusing especially on its relationship to classical liberalism. It explains how the new enthusiasm for liberalization associated with Reagan and Thatcher helped revive the European project in the 1980s, while providing some insights on the current challenges Europe is facing as a result of the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The contributors highlight the role of liberal, pro-market ideas played in shaping the EU, the single market and the euro, and how these should be coming into play again if the European project is to be reanimated.

This volume originates from a conference the Italian think tank Istituto Bruno Leoni hosted in 2019 and is dedicated to Alberto Giovannini (1955-2019). Giovannini was an influential macroeconomist and financial economist. His vast legacy of studies and ideas prompted this book in his honor, on the occasion of his untimely passing away.






Editors and Affiliations

  • IGIER, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Francesco Giavazzi

  • "La Sapienza” University, Rome, Italy

    Francesco Lefebvre D'Ovidio

  • IULM University, Milan, Italy

    Alberto Mingardi

About the editors

Francesco Giavazzi is Professor of Economics at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, where he is Vice Chair of the University Advisory Council and was Deputy Rector (2000-2002). He was Visiting professor at MIT (2003-2013).

Francesco Lefebvre D'Ovidio is Professor of History of International Relations at Università “La Sapienza” in Rome, Italy, and Chairman of the Scientific Committee for the Publication of Documents on the Italian International Policies at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. He published a number of studies on international affairs, such as L'Italia e il sistema internazionale 1922-1929 (Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura), and edited several collections of Italian diplomatic documents, among which two volumes on La questione dell'Alto Adige/Südtirol 1964-1969 (Poligrafico dello Stato).

Alberto Mingardi is Associate Professor of History of Political Thought at IULM University of Milan, Italy. He is also Director General of Istituto Bruno Leoni, Italy’s free-market think tank (www.brunoleoni.it) which he helped establish in 2004. He is an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, Washington DC, USA. He holds a PhD in Political Science from University of Pavia, Italy.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Liberal Heart of Europe

  • Book Subtitle: Essays in Memory of Alberto Giovannini

  • Editors: Francesco Giavazzi, Francesco Lefebvre D'Ovidio, Alberto Mingardi

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60368-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-60367-0Published: 16 April 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-60370-0Published: 16 April 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-60368-7Published: 15 April 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXV, 177

  • Number of Illustrations: 18 b/w illustrations, 25 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Public Economics, Political Economy/Economic Systems, Political Philosophy, Political Theory

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access