Lo spazio delle materie economiche nella formazione dei giuristi

This paper deals with the academic training of Italian graduates in legal studies and explores, more specifically, the space that is devoted, or could be devoted, within their curricula to the teaching of economic-quantitative subjects. Indeed, the modern jurist/legal practitioner seems to need a wide range of skills, including an awareness of the functioning of markets and, more generally, an understanding of economic and business phenomena. Based on an initial conjec- ture that the curricula offered to law students provide minimal coverage in those subject areas, we set out to analyze, with reference to the academic year 2021-2022, the educational offerings of all law departments of Italian universities (with the exception of distance learning universities), to ascertain the extent to which economic-quantitative teachings are included, either compulsorily or op- tionally, in the curricula of five-year single-cycle, three-year, and master’s degree programs in legal studies. From the analysis of 290-degree programs, a picture emerges that raises concerns, about the basic training of young Italian lawyers in the above skill areas. A closer look is made for the case of Public Finance, which has traditionally been included in the legal studies curricula.