Piero Sraffa: emigration and scientific activity (1921 - 45)

In this paper we shall be considering the interweave of scientific and biographical aspects of Piero Sraffa's life, specifically with regard to the correlation between those moments in which his condition as an emigrant assumed particular relevance and three turning points of his scientific activity: his decision to undertake a career as an academic economist, which we guess was taken approximately in the Spring of 1923; his discovery of the equations to be developed in the systems presented in 1960 in his book, most probably in November 1927; and his decision to assume the editorship of the writings of David Ricardo, approximately in February 1930. We have chosen to confine our research to the period between Piero Sraffa's first sojourn abroad as a young economist and the Second World War.