History of Economic and Social Development

Part 1 (20 hrs-3 cfu): Introduction to the history of economic and social development
Part 2 (20 hrs-3 cfu): Research experience at the Historical Archives of Banca Intesa San Paolo
Part 3 (20 hrs-3 cfu): Elaboration, presentation and discussion of research work

Since World War II, with the creation of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, economic and social development has assumed the status of a common and shared goal at the global level. In spite of its structural ambivalence, the idea of development has been translated into a series of policies and institutions that have helped shape the framework of North-South relations in recent decades. In this scenario, international financial relations have become increasingly relevant.
The course investigates the history of economic and social development through the perspective of Italy's leading bank, which, just after World War II, embarked on a plan to expand relations abroad.
Students will have the opportunity to work on the papers of Carlo Bombieri, head of the Foreign Service of Banca Commerciale Italiana from 1949 and then its managing director from 1965 to 1973. The collection consists largely of correspondence with Italian and foreign diplomats, businessmen and financiers, as well as reports on specific countries. The documents draw a dense network of relationships extending from Latin America to the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, reaching as far as Iran, India and China.
The first part of the course is devoted to presenting and discussing the concept of development and how it translates into policies and institutions. The second and third parts will consist of work at the Banca Intesa San Paolo Historical Archives on the papers of the Bombieri Fund and will allow students to follow Comit's activities in support of the internationalization of Italian companies and the economic and social development of emerging countries.