Economics

Educational objectives

The course aims at introducing theoretical models dealing with technological change and innovation.
In, particular the course focuses on:
i) the unfolding of technological change and innovation, taking into account the multitude of forms that innovation might assume (i.e. Research and Development, process, product, organizational and patent innovation);
ii) the diffusion of innovation;
iii) the link between innovation and market forms;
iv) the relationship between innovation and economic performance analyzed at micro (enterprise), meso (sector) and macro (nation) level v) the relationship between innovation, labor markets and income distribution.
As a starting point, a brief empirical overview of the key technological waves unfolding throughout history as well as of the technological performance of the major world economies will be provided. The course will refer to a plurality of literature strands (classical, neoclassical and evolutionary) and will be characterized, alongside a detailed illustration of the main theoretical models, by the presentation and discussion of scientific contributions - both theoretical and empirical - of high relevance for the economics of innovation.

Acquired Skills
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
· Master micro- and macroeconomic models relating to the diffusion and impact of technological innovations
· Compare different theoretical approaches to the socio-economic implications of technological change
· Understand and critically discuss industrial and innovation policies
· Understand the connection between theoretical models designed to study the diffusion and impact of innovation and empirical tools aimed at validating these models

Acquired Knowledge
Students will acquire:
· Advanced knowledge of the main models used to study the diffusion, determinants and impact of innovation
· Skills aimed at synthesising and analysing phenomena related to technological change
· The ability to understand research on growth and technological innovation, innovation and employment, and the impact of industrial policies
· A critical approach to analysing phenomena of scientific and policy interest concerning the diffusion and impact of innovation
 

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students the theoretical, methodological and practical tools needed to understand the spatial and geographical organization of the economy. It will focus on the most recent advancements in the field of economic geography about the following themes: regional development and regional inequality; the logic and geography of firms’ location; the spatiality of local and global economic networks; the relation between innovation, technology and geographical space; business clusters and learning regions; the economic geography of cities; economic policies and space. The course will include seminars and workshops. In the workshops, students will learn how to use geographical information systems, how to manage and analyze spatial data and to produce thematic maps.

Educational objectives

Mastering state–of–the art modelling approaches and computational techniques
in macroeconomics and finance. The MACROFIN course is intended for master students,
serving as a bridge between intermediate-level macroeconomics and PhD-level
macroeconomics. This course introduces students to the analysis of real business cycle
models in complete and incomplete markets, with heterogeneous agents and financial
frictions. A first part of the course focuses on: building benchmark business cycle models,
deriving competitive vs social planner equilibria, defining models in recursive form (Bellman
equation), solving and simulating them with local and global methods. A second part of the
course advances towards general equilibrium models with incomplete markets,
heterogeneous agents, and financial frictions.

Educational objectives

The course aims to introduce students to the advanced study of policy evaluation. The primary objective is to equip students with the skills and competencies necessary for professionally evaluating the impact of economic policies and programs. This objective will be pursued through a careful coverage of the state-of-the-art analytical techniques for economic policy evaluation as well as through an empirical and “hands-on” approach to the analysis of specific policies and programs, which have been implemented using real-world data.

Achieved knowledge
We therefore focus on methodological tools, but great emphasis will be placed on empirical evidence obtained through economic data. This aspect will enable students to combine a deep understanding of both the methods of economic policy evaluation and the practical application of those methods to a real policy intervention.

Acquired Skills
In general, students will acquire knowledge and skills about the following aspects: a) characterisation of the policy framework, that is, policy makers' objectives and program beneficiaries; b) selection of the most proper approach for assessing the economic impact of a specific policy/program; c) the application of such a tool to the issue at hand.

After passing the exam, students will become familiar with the theory and practice of evaluating the impact of a public policy. In particular, they will be able to know how to design and conduct a policy evaluation analysis. This aspect will enable them to participate actively in policy assessment analyses.

Educational objectives

The course aims at introducing students to the recent debate on the theory of monetary policy. To this end, students learn the concepts, methodologies and analytical tools which are necessary to understand the advanced theoretical models on the subject matter. Special attention is devoted to the analysis of dynamical system, to the methods of expectation formation and to the foundations of game theory. Based on these conceptual and analytical elements, the course pursues the general objective of deepening the main theoretical issues which contributed to design the monetary policy regimes actually realised in the last decades. In this way, the course allows students to understand the current debate on the accomplished realizations and on the limits encountered by the central banks of the main industrialized countries. This requires to devote a specific part of the course to the theoretical models recently employed to identify the optimal behaviour of central banks. In this way, the course offers students the possibility to learn both advanced theoretical notions, which are useful to understand the real economic world and which are necessary for those who wish to continue the study of economics, and the actual behaviour of monetary authorities, of particular relevance for those who are interested in monetary and financial issues and wish to enter the labor market after the Laurea. The acquisition of all the tools that are necessary to achieve the teaching targets is guaranteed by specific sections of the program.

Students passing the exam know at an upper intermediate level the most recent theory of monetary policy and they understand the most recent theoretical models underlying the behavior of the central banks of the main industrialized countries. They possess the advanced mathematical and economic tools required by this task and have a particularly good knowledge of game theory and economic dynamics. They understand the problems introduced into monetary economic modelling by the presence of multiplicative uncertainty. Specific knowledge refers to both New Classical and New Keynesian theorizing in monetary policy, to the design of constraints on central banking and to the problem of transparency in monetary policy. The simulation of dynamical economic systems is known at an introductory level.

Students passing the exam are able to understand the current debate on the theory of monetary policy and to read without any problem National and International reports on central banking by private and public institutions (starting from the monthly bulletins and the annual reports by central banks, the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the other main international institutions). They read without difficulties scientific papers on the studied topics at an upper intermediate level. They are also able to construct upper intermediate models employing game theory and dynamic optimisation methods. They can simulate the response of economic variable to shocks in basic dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models by use of the Dynare freeware software. Finally, they can understand the motivations underlying the actual choices of central banks and to derive their effects on the (current and expected) main economic variables.

Educational objectives

The aims of this course are to provide an introduction to the methods of quantitative economic history together with a review of some major findings of historical research of interest to economists. Even though the course is designed in European perspective, the global economy is taken into account for comparison.

Educational objectives

The course aims to provide students with a solid understanding of international finance and monetary economics at an advanced level. It focuses on the study of formal models and analytical frameworks used to examine international financial markets, exchange rates, balance of payments, and the interactions between monetary and fiscal policies across countries. Emphasis is placed on both analytical tools and empirical evidence from international economic and financial data.
Acquired Skills
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
• Understand and interpret the main theoretical and empirical models of international finance and monetary economics
• Analyze and interpret dynamics of exchange rates, capital flows, and global financial markets
• Participate in discussions and debates on international monetary and financial policy
• Apply analytical tools to examine international financial phenomena using real data.

Acquired Knowledge
Students will acquire:
• Advanced knowledge of key concepts, models, and methods in international money and finance
• The ability to prepare reports and policy briefs for international institutions, central banks, or the private financial sector
• Understanding of advanced research on international financial markets, exchange rate determination, and global monetary policy
• Skills to independently conduct high-quality research and analysis on international finance topics.

Educational objectives

Students that will successfully pass the exam on Economics of Inequality fully understand issues related to measuring and defining economic inequalities and know main theories which try to explain their trend. In addition they will fully understand welfare system models, in particular pension systems, and will be able to evaluate how State and market can achieve many objectives in terms of equity and efficiency. In addition, they will know the characteristics of pension systems and the link between income distribution and standard of living. Such knowledge is extremely useful both for those people who want to continue studying economics within the academia and for those students who want to enter the labour market in the social field and or in research centres.

SKILLS ACHIEVED:

Students that will successfully pass the exam on Economics of Inequality will be able to measure and assess trends and determinants of income distribution. Further, they will be able to analyse welfare systems and distributive effects of different policies. Hence they will fully comprehend ongoing debate on economic inequalities and on welfare state policies and they will be able to read and understand official documents provided by various economic institutions and scientific papers dealing with welfare state systems.

Educational objectives

Students will learn about the theoretical and methodological background needed to understand the spatial and geographical organization of the economy. In particular, students will focus on the most interesting spatial economics issues: regional growth and development; firm location; stages of urbanization and the role of cities in a globalized world; globalization and competitiveness; policies and plans for territorial development. This work will enable students to have an integrated spatial dimension of economics.

SKILLS ACHIEVED:

The theoretical and methodological background to understand the spatial and geographical organization of the economy will enable students to have an integrated spatial dimension of economics.