His "advanced views on economics" didn't stop his chancellor (the money man) from being the most hated man in Italy. Frederick spent money like water - and it came from taxes. If he dropped tolls or duties it was to disoblige whoever had the monopoly on collecting them! I have, as you might can tell, a different attitude toward the Stupor Mundi. One could point out that his near contemporary Louis IX not only ended up a saint but also enlarged his kingdom and left it reasonably prosperous. Frederick's died with him, which wasn't entirely his fault. He didn't show much interest in ruling the German part of it and he messed up the Italian domain.
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