La “scoperta dei disoccupati”. Alle origini dell’indagine statistica sulla disoccupazione nell’Italia liberale (1893-1915)

Abstract

In Italy in the late 19th century, the problem of involuntary unemployment was recognised as a problem for the first time, although it had been known to workers and the authorities since at least the Risorgimento period. It was only at this time, during a period of economic depression and in conjunction with the development of the workers' and peasants' movement, that a political and economic debate began on the lack of work and the means to combat it. A pioneering statistical measurement of the phenomenon emerged in those years, before developing during the Giolittian period in a political context that was more receptive to the demands of the labour movement. This study reconstructs for the first time the “discovery” of a typical problem of capitalism, which is also at the centre of today's debate.