Dear Colleagues,
it is with deep sadness that I inform you of the departure of our beloved and valued “Grande Vecio”.
Andrea Cornia was a bosom friend to us all, a mentor and a shining example of service to development. He is one of the founders of SITES and our first President. A great and good old man (Grande Vecio in his Venetian dialect) with a charismatic personality. Andrea was always very generous when it came to providing colleagues and students with suggestions and advice. He shared with lively enthusiasm his long experience as a “development economist with a human face”, backed by a solid theoretical knowledge of development economics, both in wonderful conversations and in the pages of his latest book on The Macroeconomics of Developing Countries for young development economists.
He has visited more than 70 developing and transition countries, including many of the poorest countries, and has participated in or led missions for several organizations such as UNDP, UN or Unicef to conduct micro-analyzes and advise local governments on macroeconomic and social policies, programs to address the many dimensions of poverty, hunger and high inequality, and long-term development strategies. He also been sharing with us his institutional experience in leading research centers such as WIDER, the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence and IRPET, dealing with issues of human development and well-being or long-term economic, socialand environmental perspectives, and as a member of advisory bodies such as the UN Committee for Development Policy.
We remember Andrea as a person of unstoppable vitality, energy and determination. A scientific, social and moral personality of great stature, who also stood out for his exemplary civic commitment. A special person with whom it was an honor to work and with whom it was an intellectual and human pleasure to discuss. Working with Andrea was a unique experience of unity between common work and generous sympathy.
Andrea leaves SITES his scientific and human legacy, which we will keep in safekeeping so that he can continue to be a strong, inspiring presence for us all.
Thank you, Grande Vecio!
Federico Perali
President SITES
