I cannot refrain from briefly recalling Einaudi’s role in ending post-war inflation and opening the way to a long period of sustained growth and stability. The monetary stabilisation of 1947 bore his mark and is an enduring legacy left by Einaudi as a policymaker.
Economic historians still debate the respective roles that Einaudi himself and Donato Menichella, the then Director-General of the Bank of Italy, played in devising the stabilisation plan. Whatever the details, it is clear that Einaudi, as Governor of the Bank of Italy first, then as Budget Minister and deputy Prime Minister, took prime responsibility.