Book Reviews : The Italian Prefects: A Study in Administrative Politics. By ROBERT C. FRIED. (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1963. Pp. 343. $7.50.)
| Author | David G. Farrelly |
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296401700434 |
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
820
of
wages
by
manual
workers
in
the
building
and
civil
engineering
trades. Irish
win-
ters
are
not
severe
enough
to
halt
or
greatly
reduce
building
operations;
but
Irish
rains
frequently
deprive
workers
of
a
few
days
pay.
A
state
scheme
of
insurance
mitigates
this
hardship.
In
general
the
range
of
the
social
insurances
is
closely
com-
parable
to
that
in
other
European
countries,
as
the
author
makes
clear
in
his
final
chapter.
Since
Mr.
Farley
is
an
experienced
administrator,
the
whole
tone
of
the
book
is
practical
and
strictly
factual.
He
occasionally
gives
some
comparative
data:
in
his
Introduction
he
quotes
an
interesting
table
from
a
publication
of
the
International
Labour
Office
which
shows
the
approximate
percentage
of
the
national
income
which
is
devoted
to
the
social
services;
and
the
subject
of
his
concluding
chapter
is
&dquo;Social
Security
in
other
Countries.&dquo;
One
could
wish
that
he
made
more
use
of
com-
parative
data
in
his
other
chapters.
For
instance,
he
tells
us
that
approximately
39
out
of
every
1,000
people
in
Ireland
are
in
receipt
of
old
age
pensions,
and
if
blind
persons
are
included
the
number
of
pensioners
rises
to
41
per
thousand.
It
would
be
interesting
to
compare
these
figures
with
corresponding
figures
in
other
countries.
The
very
considerable
merits
of
this
book
lie
in
its
systematic,
brief
description
of
the
Irish
system
of
social
insurance.
The
political
scientist
who
uses
it
as
a
valu-
able
source
of
information
often
wishes
that
he
had
been
given
more
in
the
way
of
comparisons,
and
analytical
discussion.
PHILIP
W.
BUCK
Stanford
University
The
Italian
Prefects:
A
Study
in
Administrative
Politics.
By
ROBERT
C.
FRIED.
(New
Haven :
Yale
University
Press, 1963.
Pp. 343.
$7.50.)
Making
good
use
of the
historical
approach,
this
study
traces
the
development
of
field
administration
in
Italy.
While
the
reader
is
told
early
that
the
prefectoral
system
is
the
point
of
focus,
only
by
page
80
does
the
subject
come
into
clear
view.
Professor
Fried
knows
that
the
past
still
plays
a
heavy
role
in
Italian
life;
historical
context
is
essential
to
understand
modern
institutions.
Also,
Fried
appreciates
the
necessity
of
considering
political,
social,
and
economic
factors
in
any
work
of
this
kind.
As
part
of
a
general
inquiry
into
comparative
field
administration
launched
at
Yale
University,
this
study
is
valuable
beyond
its
immediate
contribution
to
a
knowl-
edge
of
Italian
government
and
politics.
Until
the
nineteenth
century
Italy
was
largely
a
geographical
expression
and
a
land
of
contrasts.
Where
to
begin
amid
the
centuries
and
many
political
powers
that
have
governed
the
territory?
Fried
starts
with
a
consideration
of
the
Piedmont
heritage,
a
sound
point
of
departure
given
the
key
role
that
Piedmont
played
in
the
unification
of
Italy.
In
the
late
sixteenth
century
a
new
set
of
magistrates
-
prefects
-
was
instituted
to
administer
justice
at
lower
echelons
in
Piedmont.
From
that
time
until,
roughly,
1860,
various
central
administrative
agents
were
created:
mer-
cantilism
brought
intendants;
military
governors
were
sometimes
given
authority
in
provincial
civil
affairs;
Napoleon’s
conquest
introduced
the
French
prefectoral
sys-
tem.
While
the
French
system
was
abandoned
under
King
Emmanuel
I,
by
the
late
1840’s
it
had
been
largely
reinstituted.
Meanwhile
in
the
rest
of
Italy,
from
1815-59,
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