The Institute for International Economics was officially opened in November 1946, attended by the Italian President Enrico De Nicola with the participation of authorities, economic operators and academics from all over Italy.
The Instituteʼs mission was to create a strong centre of scientific culture in international economics in Genova. The work of the Institute continues today promoting research in international economics with a view to contribute to its advancement.
The Institute was born in 1945 on the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce, then led by President Francesco Manzitti, and of the University of Genoa. The Institute officially opened on 4th November 1946 in front of the President of Italian Republic, Enrico de Nicola, and the highest political and economics authorities of the country.
The Institute has always been involved in the organization of important events like the International congress of parliamentarians and experts for the development of international trade in 1948. This Congress was attended by almost thousand delegates and experts from 50 countries. After the devastation of II World War this international conference represented a fundamental opportunity for debates and exchange of ideas on issues concerning international trade and its recovery, to be inspired to a new trading system able to reduce economic imbalances among countries.
In the following years, the Institute went on promoting and organizing international meetings and conferences of prominent scholars or important personalities of the economic world, as Wilhelm Röpke (1963), Ota Sik (1971), John Kenneth Galbraith (1972), until Mario Monti (2005).
In 2008 the first edition of "International Economics Prize" and "Francesco Manzitti Prize" took place on occasion of the 60th anniversary of the review Economia Internazionale/International Economics. The prizes are dedicated to the review of the Institute and to the businessman President of the Chamber of Commerce in 1946, when the Institute for International Economics was founded.The International Economics prize is awarded to an economist for his research work and the Francesco Manzitti prize to an entrepreneur for his repute in international business activity.
The award ceremony usually takes place during the annual conference organized by the Institute with the participation of outstanding figures from the academic and the entrepreneurial world.