History has been an exceptional resource for the study of economics. In which ways, and within which limits, has history - that is, economic facts of the past and their analysis - been played a role in the works of the great economists? In order to answer this question, the editor has invited nine Italian scholars to examine the writings of renowned economists of the past (including Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Marshall, Pantaleoni, Schumpeter, Keynes, and Sraffa) in order to establish the presence of a "historical" dimension in their theories. The same question was also submitted to three contemporary economists - Friedman, Pasinetti, and Samuelson - who answer by reviewing their own personal experience. A biography and a bibliography complete each essay.

Contents: Introduction: Clio in Economic Theory, by P. Ciocca - "Pauvres paysans, pauvre royaume!": History and Analysis in Quesnay, by G. Viaggi - Adam Smith: Economics and Other Social Sciences, by P. Sylos Labini - David Ricardo: History as Natural Order, by G. Lunghini - Karl Marx: Economic History and Theory, by G. Gilbert - Alfred Marshall: History and Economic Analysis, by G. Becattini - Maffeo Pantaleoni: Ideological Ties between History and Economic Theory, by P. Bini - Schumpeter the Economist, by N. De Vecchi - John M. Keynes and Economic History, by M. De Cecco - Piero Sraffa: An Economic Theory Open to History, by A. Roncaglia - Reflections on Myself, by M. Friedman - Economic History and Prevailing Economic Analysis, by P.A. Samuelson - Two Different Ways to Make Economic Theory, by L.L. Pasinetti

Pierluigi Ciocca is Deputy Director of the Bank of Italy and Chief Editor of the journal "Rivista di Storia Economica".