In memory of Professor Marcello De Cecco

Marcello De Cecco, an internationally renowned economist, professor and commentator, disappeared during the week. Topic: theory of wages, a critical excursus from the thinking of classical economists to the analytical foundations of incomes policy, at the time at the center of every debate on income distribution and labor costs. In fact, an article of his on the application of Ricardian theory to the labor market had just come out, which, unlike his favorite studies of monetary economics, saw him interested in analyzing the peculiarities of the Italian situation on that front. His rigor manifested itself immediately, requiring me to read in the original English version of two particularly complex works such as The theory of wages by JRHicks and The theory of unemployment by ACPigou, before tackling JMKeynes' general theory. When, after many months, I brought him my labored conclusions to read, he told me that they reminded him of the excerpts attributed to the fragmentary poets of ancient Greece. In other words, that we didn't understand each other very much and that important connections were missing. He helped me put it all back together. He understood and rewarded my effort, giving me a prestigious scholarship abroad after graduation. After many years he embarrassed me by introducing me to another professor as the drafter of the best thesis followed during his academic career. I remember his withering jokes discussing topics in vogue at the time, on the long wave of XNUMX, such as Marx's economic theories. 'But what are you waiting for, he once told us, to leave that old man alone?' Or when in a conference he addressed the speaker who, preceding him, had underlined the low weight of our country in the world economic context: "The professor, he began, comes from Switzerland and calls Italy a small country". The theater came down with applause. He had a great love for his land and suffered to see the Italian wounds. In jeans and tennis shoes he entered the meetings of the Monte dei Paschi deputation as councillor. Out of nonconformism, in line with his intellectual autonomy, not out of disrespect. When Pertini came to visit the Sienese bank, he told me that he had been the only one of the representatives to bring his wife with him and introduce him, something completely natural in international institutional contexts. He was proud of the position he held on the board of the Italian International Bank, at the time a foreign investee of the Sienese Institute, which allowed him to follow international finance operations on the London market, combining theoretical knowledge and operational practices. He regretted when, due to some political alchemy, he was replaced by a person of much lesser caliber. I remember his smile, almost a repeated sob, ironic and amused in the face of some anecdote that proved his reflections and his unlimited curiosity right. And his broad pleasant face and dark mustache, which, at a certain point, appeared on his face, eliminating any expression of severity. In the first years of my professional career I continued to turn to his advice. I periodically went to visit him for a couple of hours' chat. Often I didn't warn him, but he never asked me to come back at another time. We resumed the conversation naturally, without realizing that, in some cases, even a few years had passed since the previous meeting. And he explained to me in just a few passages some of his reflections on the national and international economic events of the moment. His way of recognizing and recounting the interdependencies, invisible to most, between seemingly distant economic/political circumstances has always been fascinating. I have no title to commemorate his memory as a renowned scholar, but I am sure that this brief and personal memory of mine can only please those who have been able to appreciate his role as educator since the beginning of his university career.