“Posizioni iniziali” e distribuzione della ricchezza: l’economia politica di Rodolfo Benini

The paper deals with Rodolfo Benini’s contribution to political economy, with emphasis on the problem of wealth distribution and on the concept of «starting positions». The first problem presents strong analogies with Vilfredo Pareto’s methodological approach to the studies of income and wealth distribution; the second is rooted in a conceptual framework elaborated for the first time by Maffeo Pantaleoni in 1901. The paper shows the strong relationship between these two research perspectives in Benini’s thought, which form the core of his Lessons on Political Economy (1936). The paper also examines the role played by Benini in the debate on «corporative economics» in the inter-war period.