Gioja, Melchiorre (1767–1829)

Italian writer on philosophy and political economy whoseNuovo Prospetto delle scienze economiche1815–17 may be considered the best and most original treatment of the division of labour since Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.

Gioja was born at Piacenza. The French authorities in Milan appointed him director of the statistical bureau, and he was one of the first investigators to apply statistics to questions of public morality and political economy. Filosofia della statistica explains briefly his ideas on human life, and affords the best insight into his aims and methods. He also wrote Del merito e delle recompense 1818, a large treatise giving a systematic description of social ethics from a utilitarian standpoint.