Meet OWSD Ambassador, Alberto Quadrio Curzio: The economist who builds bridges between ideas, institutions, and society
Few economists combine theory, institutions, and civic purpose as seamlessly as OWSD Ambassador Prof. Alberto Quadrio Curzio. President Emeritus of Italy’s Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and Professor Emeritus at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, he has spent more than five decades shaping how Europe thinks about growth, governance, and solidarity.
OWSD Secretariat
Born and educated in Italy, OWSD Ambassador Quadrio Curzio graduated in Political Science in 1961 from Università Cattolica under the mentorship of Siro Lombardini. After study at the University of Cambridge, he began teaching at the University of Cagliari in 1965 and later at Bologna, where he became a full professor and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science.
In 1976 he returned to Milan’s Università Cattolica, where he served as Full Professor of Political Economy until 2010 and as Dean from 1989 to 2010, leaving a lasting mark on generations of students and scholars.
Building institutions for ideas
In 1977, Quadrio Curzio founded CRANEC (Centre for Research in Economic Analysis and International Economic Development), which he directed for more than three decades. The centre became a hub for Italian and European researchers studying the links between structure, innovation, and growth.
He later chaired the Italian Economics Association, served on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Financial History at Cambridge, and in 1984 founded Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, which he still leads as Editor-in-Chief.
Economics must stay connected to its moral and social roots.
- Alberto Quadrio Curzio
Shaping how we think about growth
Quadrio Curzio’s work links technological progress to the fair use of scarce resources and the spread of knowledge. Lasting prosperity, he argues, depends on a balance between markets, good governance, and social cohesion—which he calls “liberal solidarism.” He also highlights how Italy’s long tradition of economic thought shows the deep connection between innovation and civic progress.
Crossing frontiers
Quadrio Curzio served as President of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (2015–2018), President of the Balzan Foundation (2020–2024), and board member of Fondazione Edison, Aspen Institute Italia, and Il Mulino. As Ambassador for the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) under UNESCO, he also sits on the TWAS Steering Committee.
Representing the Lincei at the G7 of Scientific Academies (Berlin 2015, Tokyo 2016, Rome 2017), he coordinated the joint statement on New Economic Growth: the role of science, technology, innovation, and infrastructure.
Institutions matter. They are the bridges between ideas and collective progress.
- Alberto Quadrio Curzio
Economics must serve society
In a world marked by ecological limits, inequality, and institutional distrust, Quadrio Curzio’s ideas remain profoundly relevant. He reminds us that progress depends not only on markets or technology but also on trust, education, and shared purpose.
His career continues to embody a conviction that economics must serve society—never the other way around.
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Author’s note: This profile draws on materials from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, as well as public statements and published interviews.
