Economic Notes by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA,vol. 38, no. 3-2009, pp. 117–118

In Memory of Alessandro PratiBY GIOVANNI FERRI†

Alessandro Prati, a member of the Advisory Board of Economic Notessince 1999, left us prematurely in 2009. He was a brilliant economist whoserved top ranking institutions both in his home country and at the worldlevel.

After taking his bachelor’s degree in economics at the University ofTurin (the city where he had been borne) in 1984, Alessandro went on tocomplete his studies in the USA supported with scholarships by the LuigiEinaudi Foundation and the Istituto San Paolo di Torino. His ability andnatural affinity to economic policy issues brought him to start working atthe Research Department of Banca d’Italia in 1989, even before completinghis doctorate in economics (at UCLA, in 1991). Alessandro devoted hisdoctoral thesis research to public debt management, with a special focuson situations of potential unsustainability of public debt. In particular, headdressed the problems faced by France in the 1920s when Poincare’sstabilization succeeded in stopping a run on public debt, thus sparingFrance hyperinflation. One of the papers in his thesis was published inthe Journal of Monetary Economics. At the time he worked for Bancad’Italia, Italy itself was facing problems of sustainability of its public debtand Alessandro’s contributions proved particularly important for the policydebate.

Often attracted by academia – he received several offers from presti-gious economics departments in the USA as well as in Europe – he choseto be a civil servant in the conviction that, in this way, he would be moreeffective at helping to mould society’s attitude towards sound economicpolicies. Even though unnoticed – he was rather shy – Alessandro wouldalways strive to focus his own research and that of his colleagues to dealwith relevant economic problems while avoiding fashionable but steriledebates.

In 1994, having realized his mission went beyond his home country’sborders, Alessandro joined the IMF, where he worked for the rest of hislife, most of the time in the Research Department addressing issues invarious fields pertaining to monetary policy and financial stability. Lately,

†University of Bari, Via Camillo Rosalba 53, 70124 Bari, Italy. E-mail: g.ferri@dse.uniba.it

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118 Economic Notes 3-2009: Review of Banking, Finance and Monetary Economics

he had developed an interest in investigating the impact of fiscal andmonetary policies in emerging and poor countries. Even if mostly drivenby research interests, Alessandro had an unusual ability to work in teamsand to manage people. Thus, at the beginning of 2009 he was promotedto Assistant Director of the Research Department, one of the few of hiscountrymen to reach such an influential post at the IMF.

Those who had the privilege to work with him will always rememberAlessandro’s wit, rigour and dedication. Even when working in stressfulsituations he was at all times kind and, with a smile on his face, availableto help others.

For our journal Alessandro was a constant source of ideas. Manytimes he identified important topics for discussion and also organizedinternational conferences. Even during his long illness, he still tried to beas helpful as possible. His premature death is a major loss for EconomicNotes and, particularly, for those of us who were his close friends andcolleagues. At this time, we feel close to and offer our condolences toElisa, Alessandro’s wife, and to Giulia and Eugenio, their daughter andson. We can only imagine your pain and sadness, but know you willalways rejoice at having shared your life with such a wonderful man.

C© 2009 The AuthorJournal compilation C© 2009 Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA.