War and Economic Development in the Studies of Friendrich List and Enrico Barone

Friedrich List and Enrico Barone play a significant role in German and Italian economic literature. Both focus their economic arguments on the concept of war and have some elements in common. The central point of the paper is the essential role played by war in economic development (viewed as a succession of stages). It is argued that List developed this theory, influencing the German Historical School. It is then put forward that Barone, despite adhering to Prussian military thinking on the one hand, and Marginalist economics on the other, expressed a vision of the relation between war and economic development which was partially similar to that of List. The article aims to pinpoint those similarities, focusing on evaluating and comparing elements related to the connection between economic development and war in their studies.