VERS LA CONSTRUCTION D’UNE SCIENCE ADMINISTRATIVE AU XVIIIE SIÈCLE. L’EXEMPLE DU CADASTRE DE MILAN

Abstract

Towards the formation of an administrative science in the eighteenth century. The case of the Milan cadaster. The Milan cadaster is the expression of a philosophy and the cornerstone of a theory of taxation that developed through Europe from the mid-18th century. But its significance goes well beyond that. Through Pompeo Neri’s Relazione on the 1750 Milanese Census, the Milanese experience became the benchmark for a proper evaluation on the effectiveness of reforms and a fundamental platform for the new administrative science. The Milanese reforms are a masterpiece of institutional design and ‘virtuous’ incentives. The aim of this essay is to show that the roots of those reforms involve a wide array of intellectual and practical influences.