The World on the Line

Organised by

• Department of History

A call landing on the voicemail of the most senior official of a regional organisation, the visit of an international delegation, a discussion with an esteemed economist, or a meeting with a famous journalist to prepare a documentary on the economy — these events capture some of the ordinary work of a central banker. While research on international finance in the second half of the twentieth century often highlights macro themes like inflation, exchange rates, economic growth, it tends to overlook such routine activities. However, seemingly trivial aspects — such as a missed phone call, the diplomatic intricacies of a senior visit, a conversation with a colleague or the effort to disseminate economic concepts to the wider public — are all micro-events that are part and parcel of the wider role of a central banker. These routine tasks challenge the perception of a faceless financial elite merely toying with numbers. Central bankers must embrace the roles of a diplomat, an economist, an intellectual, and perhaps even a politician; they tackle issues reaching well beyond narrowly-conceived financial matters, including technological innovation, legal frameworks, European integration and industrial policy – all while operating on domestic, regional and global scales. Based on his phone calls and meetings diary, this presentation will analyse the day-to-day activities of a central banker as a lens to understand his work and the broader transformations of postwar finance. President of the European Commission Jacques Delors, the Czechoslovak delegation, Economics Nobel Prize Franco Modigliani or Piero Angela’s Quark Economia were some of the figures in the everyday activities that this presentation will analyse and that formed a day in the life of the deputy director general of the Bank of Italy, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa.