No. 58 - Luigi Einaudi as Governor (1945-1948). Postwar, reconstruction and stabilization
This paper analyzes the evolution of Banca d'Italia during Luigi Einaudi's governorship. Einaudi was appointed in January 1945, and pursued a very broad mandate: to restore the Bank's autonomy across monetary policy, exchange-rate policy and supervision policy; to contribute to the reintegration of the Italian economy into the new international economic order; to reaffirm the Bank's role as the 'bank of banks' while reducing its role as the 'bank of the Treasury'; and to strengthen its technical reputation in order to help shape the key economic policy decisions in Italy. Before long, bringing excessive inflationary pressures under control became the primary objective. Einaudi chose to postpone the launch of the stabilization intervention until 1947, considering support for economic recovery through an expansion of bank credit to be a national priority. Once implemented, monetary policy proved to be effective in achieving stabilization. Our reconstruction shows how Einaudi's governorship prepared the Bank to play a crucial role in the evolution of the Italian economy in the subsequent decades.
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30 September 2026
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