Giovanni Vaggi, former director of the Master's program in Cooperation and Development, was awarded the “Antonio Feltrinelli” Prize of the Accademia dei Lincei
On Friday, June 13, 2025, at the closing ceremony of the academic year, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei – the oldest scientific academy in the world, founded in 1603 and which counted Galileo Galilei among its first members – presented the prestigious “Antonio Feltrinelli” 2025 Awards. Universally recognised as the “Italian Nobel Prizes,” the Feltrinelli Prizes are among the most internationally coveted for their high scientific, cultural and economic value.
Giovanni Vaggi, Full Professor of economic development at the University of Pavia, was among the awardees in the “Economy and Society” category. He was recognised for his contributions internationally as an expert on physiocracy and classical political economy in general and on development economics.
This is the motivation for the award: “Giovanni Vaggi is the author of numerous works (more than 100 articles and 10 books) that are frequently cited as important landmarks in the literature on these topics. The approach of classical economists is applied to economic policy issues in less developed economies, complementing it with Pasinetti’s contributions on structural change. This is a new and original way of analysing current issues in development debates, linking them explicitly to current debates in economic theory of value and distribution and bridging two areas of research too often kept separate. The consistency of this approach with the approach of the classics of political economy translates originally into innovative applications to development issues, also expressing a value continuity with great Italian economists who have represented over time important references for scientific pluralism in the international context. It is a scientific profile rooted in classical economics, developed to be applied in advisory interventions in many lagging-development countries, landing on the idea of human and sustainable development, referring to economic, environmental and social aspects.”
