Elementi di economia pubblica

Elementi di economia pubblica (Elements of Public Economy) is a posthumously published work by Cesare Beccaria, an Italian economist and criminologist. This work, published in 1804, is based on lectures Beccaria gave in 1768. It is considered his primary contribution to economic analysis.1

In Elementi di economia pubblica, Beccaria explored concepts that anticipated later economic theories. He touched upon the division of labor and the relationship between population growth and the food supply, ideas later developed by economists like Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus. His work also influenced public finance by examining taxation and government expenditures. Beccaria's economic thought was part of his broader interest in public policy and reform, stemming from his influential work on criminal justice, Dei delitti e delle pene.12