79364 - Advanced Economic Policy and Methods

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Docente: Aura Reggiani
  • Credits: 10
  • SSD: SECS-P/02
  • Language: Italian
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Statistics, Economics and Business (cod. 8876)

Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is to provide students with instruments concerning the analysis of economic policies, and their role/impact within the economic and social development, at regional and European level. In particular, the students will be able to: - evaluate and choose indicators useful to the dynamic description of the socio-economic landscapes - carry out socio-economic analyses for the programmes and interventions of regional and territorial development - analyse the impacts of EU policies on economic convergence.

Course contents

The Program of the course is organized by means of two strictly complementary perspectives (Advanced Economic Policy and Methods) which interact when dealing with economic policy problems. The course will be developed by means of theoretical lectures combined with laboratory activities.

First, the principal economic policy actions of European Union (EU), on the basis of the directions established in the Maastricht Treatment, as well as their links with Italian and international policies, will be examined. In this context, the economies of the EU and extra-EU states will be analyzed and compared with the Italian ones, from the structural viewpoint. Different data sources will be compared for this analysis.

Secondly, EU cohesion policy and the use of Structural Funds in the EU regions will be tackled, by means of empirical analyses oriented to identify the impact of Structural Funds on the evolution of the economic dynamics in the EU regions. Theoretical approaches and methods (e.g., the analysis of economic growth and development), will be illustrated, in order to analyze similarities and differences in the various regional dynamic patterns, with attention also to spatial effects. Furthermore, the concepts of economic resilience and vulnerability, as well as of social capital, will be dealt with. The related indicators will be experimented in the same case studies, in order to identify the role of economic resilience/vulnerability – and social capital – in the light of the convergence policies.

Thirdly, these analyses will be deepened by means of well-being indicators (e.g. Human Development Index constructed at regional level, OECD indicators of objective and subjective well-being, etc.), as well as of economic (in)equality indicators (e.g. Gini, Gibrat, Zipf and entropy indices), which will be theoretically discussed and applied to the EU and extra-EU states, for the different scale levels (regional, provincial and/or urban).

A final and interactive discussion on convergence policies, on the basis of the emergent results, will close the course program.

Some seminar activities, with reference to specific arguments, will also be organized.

Readings/Bibliography

Main References

a) Necessary

Cellini R., Politica economica, McGraw-Hill, Milano, 2011, 2019 (specific chapters).

Martin R. L., Regional Economic Resilience, Hysteresis and Recessionary Shocks, Journal of Economic Geography, 2012, 12, pp. 1–32.

b) Suggested

Boggio L., Seravalli G., Lo sviluppo economico, Il Mulino Bologna, 2015 (specific chapters).

Stiglitz J., Sen A. K, Fitoussi J-P., The Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress Revisited: Reflections and Overview, 2009.

c) Additional Reading

Additional reading material concerning the topics of the course will be made available, at the end of each lecture, on IOL Platform.

Teaching methods

The teaching method is to deal, first, empirically with a problem of economic policy and then to show the approach of comparative analysis, by means of the use and discussions of the theories, data, and policies concerning the problem, jointly with the utilization of statistical analyses

Assessment methods

The degree of knowledge and competences acquired will be assessed by means of three specific power point presentations along the year (according to the three principal phases of the course program) and a final (short) essay. At the end of the course, students are expected to hold the following competences:

  • knowledge of the economic policies in EU and their links with the Italian and International policies;
  • ability to apply and integrate methods and tools presented during the course;
  • ability to design ‘Research Questions’ concerning the use of the adopted instruments to analyze the impacts of the policy strategies;
  • ability to discuss the emerging findings, in order to interpret the phenomena under analysis, given the recent literature and current economic policy strategies;
  • ability to provide a synthetic answer (‘lesson’) to the research questions previously indicated, also in the light of possible research perspectives.

Teaching tools

Reading materials, grouped according to the topics of the course, will be made available at the end of each lecture, on IOL platform.

In parallel with the theoretical lectures, empirical experiments and applications will be carried out in the lab, on the basis of the principal ‒ European and extra-European ‒ sources of socio-economic data, at various spatial scale levels (national, regional, urban, etc.) and with reference to the dynamics of (in)equality, vulnerability, resilience and well-being indicators.

Office hours

See the website of Aura Reggiani

SDGs

Decent work and economic growth Reduced inequalities Responsible consumption and production Life on land

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.