Economic Analysis And Policy

Acquisire la capacità di programmare modelli ad agenti ed analizzarne i risultati. Le simulazioni sono utilizzate ampiamente da istituti di ricerca e imprese per simulare fenomeni,economici, sociali, ambientali e produttivi.
Acquisizione di conoscenza relativa a:

• fondamenti di programmazione in Netlogo
• principi di analisi di dati simulati

Capacità di applicare le conoscenza acquisite ai temi di economia dell'ambiente e della cultura anche ai fini di sviluppare le competenze necessarie per della preparazione di una tesi di laurea con contenuti originali.

Il corso introduce le teorie e gli strumenti propri dell'Economia della Complessità e approfondisce le tecniche di simulazione ad agenti.

In particolare si tratteranno i seguenti temi:

• Quando e perché utilizzare una simulazione ad agenti: l'economia come sistema complesso adattivo.
• Come progettare un modello ad agenti: proprietà emergenti, generazione di numeri casuali, stocasticità.
• Programmare e condurre simulazioni in Netlogo: parametrizzazione e calibrazione
• Analisi dei modelli di simulazione: serie storiche di dati simulati, analisi di sensibilità, analisi della robustezza, analisi dell'incertezza.

Netlogo è disponibile gratuitamente sul sito Netlogo: http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/download.shtml

L'esame consiste in un elaborato scritto -- domande aperte -- (1 ora)

Netlogo User Manual: Tutorial #1, #2, #3, Programming Guide, Behavior Space

The objective of this course is to enable students to (i) acquire or strengthen the theoretical foundations of econometrics and (ii) apply these foundations to the practical use of econometrics.
At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Master the mathematical and statistical tools useful for econometrics and impact evaluation
• Understand the scope and limits of certain specifications;
• Interpret the results of estimates;
• Perform hypothesis testing and predictions;
• Prepare, format and harmonize databases and perform empirical estimation;
• Improve their ability to work with R programming language;
• Accumulate hands-on experience by doing empirical work.

The course is structured in two macro parts and combines theoretical and practical sessions in R.

Part 1: Econometrics

• Recap of some basic concepts of linear algebra and statistics;
• Linear regression (part 1): specification and interpretation;
• Linear regression (part 2): inference and hypothesis testing;
• Heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation;
• Endogeneity: instrumental variable estimators;
• Models for limited dependent variables.

Part 2: Impact evaluation

• What is impact evaluation: set evaluation questions and sampling strategies;
• Randomized selection methods;
• Regression discontinuity design;
• Difference-in-difference;
• Propensity score matching.

• Two mandatory take-home assignments [20%]
• Project and discussion (groups of 2 students max) [30%]
• Written examination (theoretical questions and practical exercises) [50%]

• Wooldridge, J. M. (2015). Introductory econometrics: A modern approach. Cengage learning.
• Verbeek, Marno (2017), A Guide to Modern Econometrics, Fifth Edition, Wiley.
• Gertler, P. J., Martinez, S., Premand, P., Rawlings, L. B., & Vermeersch, C. M. (2016). Impact evaluation in practice. World Bank Publications (2nd Edition).
• Khandker, S. R., Koolwal, G. B., & Samad, H. A. (2010). Handbook on impact evaluation: quantitative methods and practices. World Bank Publications.

Further scientific articles and references will be provided all along the course.

Voto Finale

The course aims to develop a critical knowledge of the fundaments of the economics and policy of knowledge production and distribution with particular emphasis on university research. The course will introduce the student to the principal institutions and policies in the area of research and innovation in the G7 countries and other BRIC countries (depending on the interests of the students). Particular attention will be devoted to the comparative analysis.
The course provides detailed knowledge on the development and implementation of science and technology policies. Students will acquire the needed theoretical and empirical knowledge to critically evaluate market failure situations that would justify the development specific policies. The analysis of the rationale behind policy action and the problems associated to the development and implementation of specific policies will help the students to develop a critical knowledge of the difficulties inherent to the development of science and technology policy.

The course is structured into fifth main modules. The first presents a brief introduction to the economics of innovation paying particular attention to the concepts of knowledge and information. It introduces the rationale for public funding of academic research and examines the main OECD indicators. The second module focuses on the analysis of the organization of scientific production and the academic labor market.. Given the increasing importance of evidence-based policy, one or two classes of the course will be devoted to the understanding and use of Science and Technology (S&T) Indicators for economic analysis and policy making. The interaction between science and industrial development and in particular university-industry relationships, academic patenting and other channels of knowledge transfer are examined in the fourth module. The fifth module focuses on the diffusion and organization of innovation; one class will focus on innovation in the health sector. The final class on S&T policy will come full circle.

The course offers the opportunity to follow two classes by experts in the field.

The course offers the opportunity to follow a series of seminars on the economics of innovation on Tuesday from 12:30 to 13:30 at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Piazza Arbarello 8 / CLE. Attendance of the seminars is compulsory. The seminars will offer the unique opportunity to get in touch with ongoing research in innovation.

Student will be required to work in groups of two/three to prepare the presentation and a term paper of 3000-4000 words.

Written/oral exam

Percentage of final mark:

Class presentation (20%)

Term paper (30%)

Written exam (50% - 20 multiple answer question and 3 open questions).

The course will use articles that are listed on the Outline and should be read before class. The following list of books are useful references

Dosi, G. (2023). The foundations of complex evolving economies: Part one: Innovation, organization, and industrial dynamics. Oxford University Press.

Fagerberg, J. Mowery D.C. e R Nelson (eds.) (2004) The Oxford Handbook of Innovation

Bronwyn H. Hall, ‎Nathan Rosenberg (eds.) (2010) Handbook of the economics of innovation. MIT Press.

Geuna ed. (2015), Global Mobility of Research Scientists. The Economics of Who Goes Where. Academic Press, 2015

Geuna and F. Rossi (2015), The University and the Economy: Pathways to growth and development, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, [translation with three new chapters of the 2013 book in Italian].

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Emerging and developing countries have many distinctive features, particularly with regard to the forms of social organisation of labour and production. In this course, four researchers will offer you four different perspectives, drawn from their own research, on specific aspects,
experiences and approaches to understand the socio-economics and political economy of labour and organisation in some particular contexts in developing countries.
The course provides detailed knowledge on emerging countries and the transition in the global economy.

The course will be organised in four thematic sessions (2x3h for each session).

Each session will be structured around the research of one of the academics involved in the course:

Session 1. Organizations and labor relation strategies in the context of macroeconomic dependence in oil and gas: the case of agri-food and software industries in Russia Pascal GROUIEZ

Session 2. Understanding Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging countries: actors and processes Petia KOLEVA

Session 3. Revisiting labour markets in Latin America: What is a good job and how to get it? Quality of employment and relational embeddedness in Colombia Thibaud DEGUILHEM

Session 4. Cooperativism, peasant organizations and rural development in Central America Renaud METEREAU

A written report of about 10 pages on one of the topics covered in class to be delivered by end of January 2027.

The expected date of final results is march 2027.

Session 1.
Belyi, A. V. (2013). Institutional trends in Russia’s oil and gas sectors.
The Journal of World Energy Law & Business, 6(3), 163-;178.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jwelb/jwt007

Boyer, R., & Saillard, Y. (2001). Regulation Theory: The State of the Art (Routledge).

Gaddy, C., & Ickes, B. (2013). Russia’s dependence on Resources. In M. Alexeev & S. Weber (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Russian Economy (pp. 309-;340). Oxford University Press.

Gimpelson, V., & Kapeliushnikov, R. (2016). Polarization or upgrading?
Evolution of employment in transitional Russia. Russian Journal of Economics, 2(2), 192-;218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ruje.2016.06.004

Grouiez, P. (2018). Understanding Agro-Holdings in Russia: A Commonsian Analysis. Journal of Economic Issues, 52(4), 1010-;1035.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.2018.1527583

Salter, W. E. G. (1959). Internal and External Balance: The Role Of Price and Expenditure Effects. Economic Record, 35(71), 226-;238.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.1959.tb00462.x

Session 2.
Koleva, P., Rodet-Kroichvili, N., David, P. & Marasova, J. (2010). “Is corporate social responsibility the privilege of developed market economies? Some evidence from Central and Eastern Europe”, International Journal of Human Resource Management 21 (2) 274-293.

Jamali D.& Neville B. (2011) “Convergence Versus Divergence of CSR in Developing Countries: An Embedded Multi-Layered Institutional Lens”, Journal of Business Ethics, 102:599-;621.

Koleva, P.,Ben Rhouma A. (2019). "Corporate Social Responsibility learning in a highly turbulent national context: some evidence from the post-2011 Tunisia", International Social Sciences and Management
Journal, 1, 1-19. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02615858

Session 3.
Bian, Y. (1997). “Bringing strong ties back in: Indirect ties, network bridges, and job searches in China”. American Sociological Review, 62(3): 366-385.

Deguilhem T, Berrou J-;P. & Combarnous F (2019). “Using your ties to get a worse job? The differential effects of social networks on quality of employment in Colombia.” Review of Social Economy, 77(4): 493-;522. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2019.1627573

Deguilhem, T., Vernot-López, M. & Delmas, B. (2021). “Quality of Employment in Bogota (Colombia): Concept, Method and Evidence”. Forum for Social Economics, forthcoming.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07360932.2020.1843515

Granovetter, M. (1983). “The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theor Revisited”. Sociological Theory, 1(1): 201-233.

Granovetter, M. (1985). “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness” American Journal of Sociology, 91(3): 481- 510.

Session 4.
Edelman, Marc. “Transnational Organizing in Agrarian Central America: histories, Challenges, Prospects.” Journal of Agrarian Change 8, no. 2-;3 (2008): 229-;257. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0366. 2008.00169.x.

Metereau, Renaud. “Nicaraguan peasant cooperativism in tension: adaptive strategy or counter-movement.” Third World Quartely 42, issue 5 (2020): 801-821. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2020.1722094

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Giudizio Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

This course covers an extensive range of empirical methods in economics that can be applied to micro data e.g. social experiments, propensity score matching, regression discontinuity designs, instrumental variable techniques and panel data analysis. This course balances theoretical discussions and practical applications. Emphasis will be on the underlying
theory, strengths and potential drawbacks associated with modern econometric techniques.
The course is designed to equip candidates with skills relevant for conducting and evaluating applied empirical work based on micro-data.

Week 1
Introduction
Preliminaries -Questions about questions - Randomized Control Trials - Assignment groups
Week 2
Making regression make sense
Week 3
Propensity Score Matching
Week 4
Instrumental Variables
Week 5
GMM
Week 7
Panel data models

• Fixed effects
• First difference
• Random effects
  Week 8
  Diff-in-Diff
  Week 9
  Regression
  Discontinuity
  Designs (RDD)
  Week 10
  Quantile
  Regressions (QR)

Sitting exam

Written report

Oral defence

The final grade will be based on assignments (replications, critiques, presentations) [40%]; class tests [20%] and the final assessment (practical [20%] + written exam [20%]).

Key books
There are many good graduate textbooks, which differ in approach. Topics covered in this course closely follow Angrist, J. and J. Pischke (2009); however, we draw information from various books.

The following will be useful references:

• Angrist, J. and J. Pischke, 2009. Mostly Harmless Econometrics, Princeton University Press.
• Wooldrige, J., 2002. Econometric analysis of Cross-sectional and Panel Data, MIT Press.
• Marno, Verbeek, 2002. “A guide to modern econometrics”, Wiley.
• Koenker, R., 2005. “Quantile Regressions”, Cambridge University Press.
• Cameron, C. and Trivedi P.K. 2005. “Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications”, New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Glennerster, R and K. Takavarasha (2013). Running randomized evaluations, a practical guide. Princeton University Press.
• Cunningham, S. (2021). Causal inference: The Mixtape. YaleUniversity Press.

The objective of the course is to go beyond the process of economic growth and provide an in-depth holistic understanding of the concept of development and well-being, with special focus on COVID-9 and its developmental impact.
This course will equip the student to understand the process and factors behind economic growth, development and subjective wellbeing; identify and measure issues relating to developing countries like poverty, and inequality; synthesize the conceptual and policy linkages between migration and economic development and; health and social capital.

This course is broadly divided into three sections. The first part reviews the growth process and its relationship with development. Developmental issues particular to the African continent including the curse of resources, foreign aid, and role of the State will be explored.

Part two of the course explores the theoretical advances in measuring development and well-being through an overview of current debates and recent empirical applications. Emerging measures of development such as poverty, inequality, health, subjective wellbeing and social capital will be analyzed in the South African context. Attempt will be made to explore some of these issues from a gender sensitive perspective.

Part three of the course focuses on the rural-urban divide within developing countries, focusing on migration and the developmental impact of rural institutions and policies like land, and credit market.

Take home test: 35%, Essay: 20%, Final take home assessment: 45%

Lecture 1. Introduction: Some facts about development. Overview of the course.

Impact of Covid 19 on South African society

Ray, Ch. 1-2 Easterly, Ch. 1

https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Spaull-et-al.-NIDS-CRAM-Wave-1-Synthesis-Report-Overview-and-Findings-1.pdf

https://cramsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/1.-Spaull-et-al.-NIDS-CRAM-Wave-2-Synthesis-Report.pdf

Wave 3 report is expected by March.

Lectures 2 & 3. Growth: theories and evidence. Ray, Ch. 3-4 & 9 Easterly, Ch. 2-3, 89

Mankiw, N. Gregory, David Romer, and David Weil. (1992). "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth", Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107, 407-438.

Banerjee, A, "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107 (3), pp. 797-817.

Kremer, M., "The O-Ring Theory of Economic Development" Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108 (3), pp. 551-575, 1993.

Krueger, Alan and Mikael Lindahl. (2001). "Education for Growth: Why and For Whom?"Journal of Economic Literature, 39 (4), 1101-1136.

Budlender & Brathaug (2002) “Calculating the Value of unpaid labour”StatsSA 2002/01 http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/WorkingUnpaidLabour/WorkingUnpaidLabour.pdf

Hall and Jones (1999), "Why do some Countries Produce so much more Output per Worker than Others?" Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 114 (1), pp. 83-116.

Acemoglu, J. Robinson and S. Johnson (2001),"The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation" , American Economic Review.

Glaeser E., Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes and Andrei Shleifer (2004)"Do Institutions Cause Growth?", NBER Working Paper 10568.

Nunn, Nathan (2009) " Slave Trade and the origin of mistrust in Africa" NBER Working Paper, 2009.

Rodrik, D., Arvind Subramanian, and Francesco Trebbi, (2002) "Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions over Geography and Integration in Economic Development,"

Sachs, Jeffrey (2003)"Institutions Don't Rule: Direct Effects of Geography on Per Capita Income,", NBER Working Paper 9490.

Bloom, David, and Jeffrey Sachs. (1998). "Geography, Demography, and Economic Growth in Africa," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2, 207-295.

Lecture 4 : 24 March The Curse of Natural Resources: Bardhan & Udry, Vol I Ch.12

"Addressing the Natural Resource Curse: An Illustration from Nigeria" by Sala-i-Martin and Subramanian (2003), NBER Working Paper 9804.

"The Curse of Natural Resources" by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner (2001), European Economic Review, vol. 45, pp. 827-838.

"Institutions and the Resource Curse" by Mehlem, Moene and Torvik (2006), Economic Journal, vol. 116, pp. 1-20.

"Power Struggles and the Natural Resource Curse," F. Caselli (2006), MIT Working Paper.

Lecture 5: 31 March Foreign Aid and Conditional Lending :Easterly, Ch. 2 “Macroeconomic Management of Foreign Aid” Edited by Isard et al, IMF.

"Aid, Policies and Growth" by Craig Burnside and David Dollar (2000), American Economic Review, vol. 90 (4), pp. 847-68.

"New Data, New Doubts: A Comment on Burnside and Dollar (2000)," Easterly, Levine and Roodman (2003), NBER Working Paper 9846.

"Aid, Policies and Growth: Revisiting the Evidence," by Burnside and Dollar (2004), World Bank Policy Research Paper 3251.

"IMF and Economic Growth: The Effects of Programs, Loans and Compliance with Conditionality" by Axel Dreher, World Development, vol. 34(5), 2006, pp. 769-788.

Lectures 6 & 7 Poverty & Inequality: concepts and measurement Ray, Ch. 6-8 Easterly, Ch. 4

Deaton, Angus. (2005). "Measuring Poverty in a Growing World (or Measuring Growth in a Poor World)," Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(1), 1-19.

Banerjee, Abhijit, and Esther Duflo. (2003). "Inequality and Growth: What Can the Data Say?" Journal of Economic Growth, 8(3), 267-299.

Klasen Stefan (2000) Poverty and Deprivation in South Africa, Review of Income and Wealth , Series 46 No.1.l

Leibrandt, Finn, Woolard (2012) Describing and Decomposing Post-apartheid inequality in South Africa, Development Southern Africa. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0376835X.2012.645639

Kingdon & Knight (2006) Subjective well-being poverty vs. Income poverty and capabilities poverty? Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 42, No. 7, 1199-;1224.

Ismail Z & Uma Kollamparambil (2015) “Youth Unemployment Duration and Competing Exit States: What hides behind long spells of Black youth unemployment in South Africa?” African Development Review, Vol. 27, No. 3, 2015, 301-;314.

Kollamparambil, Uma & Aarifah Razak (2016) ‘Trends in Gender Wage Gap and Discrimination in South Africa: A comparative analysis across races' Indian Journal of Human Development, Vol 10, Issue 1.

Lecture 8 (Prof F Booysen): Health, Social capital and Development

Carpiano, R.M. (2006). “Toward a neighborhood resource-based theory of social capital for health: Can Bourdieu and sociology help?” Social Science & Medicine 62, 165-;175.

Paldam, M. (2000). “Social Capital: One or Many? Definition and Measurement.” Journal of Economic Surveys, 14(5), 629-653.

Powell, K., Wilcox, J., Clonan, A., Bissell, P., Preston, L., Peacock, M. & Holdsworth, M. (2015). “The role of social networks in the development of overweight and obesity among adults: a scoping review.” BMC Public Health, 15, 996.

Robison, L.J., Schmid, A.A. & Siles, M.E. (2002). “Is Social Capital Really Capital?” Review of Social Economy, 60(1), 1-21.

Scheffler, R.M. & Brown, T.T. (2008). “Social capital, economics, and health: new evidence.” Health Economics, Policy and Law, 3, 321-;331.

Seferiadis, A.A., Cumming, S., Zweekhorst, M.B.M. & Bunders, J.F.G. (2015). “Producing social capital as a development strategy: Implications at the micro-level.” Progress in Development Studies, 15(2), 170-;185.

Story, W.T. (2013). “Social capital and health in the least developed countries: A critical review of the literature and implications for a future research agenda.” Global Public Health, 8(9), 983-;999.

Umberson, D. & Montez, J.K. (2010). “Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(S), S54 -;S66.

Woolcock, M. & Narayan, D. (2000). “Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy.” World Bank Research Observer, 15(2), 225-249.

Lecture 9: Economics of Happiness/Subjective wellbeing

Easterlin RA (1973) Does money buy happiness? Public Interest 30:3-;10.

Easterlin RA (1995) Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all? J Econ Behav Organ 27:35-;47.

Posel, D.R. and Casale, D.M. 2011. Relative standing and subjective well-being in South Africa: The role of perceptions, expectations and income mobility. Social Indicators Research. 104(2), pp.195-223.

Kollamparambil U (2020) Happiness, Happiness Inequality and Income inequality in South Africa, Journal of Happiness Studies, 21.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10902-019-00075-0.pdf

Kollamparambil, U. and Mathentamo, Q. (2020). Subjective wellbeing inequality in South Africa 2008-;14: An unconditional quantile decomposition analysis, Development Southern Africa, 37 (6), 1012-1032. 10.1080/0376835x.2020.1799757

Kollamparambil U (2020) Subjective wellbeing inequality between cohabiting partners: Does a household Kuznets curve exist? Journal of Happiness Studies.

Kollamparambil U (mimeo) Intergenerational mobility of Subjective wellbeing in South Africa.

Lecture 10 An introduction to Gender and Feminist Economics Prof Dori Posel

Chant, S. and C. Sweetman. (2012) “Fixing Women or Fixing the World? ‘Smart Economics,’ Efficiency Approaches, and Gender Equality in Development.” Gender & Development 20(3): 517-529.

• Elson, D. (1993) “Gender-aware analysis and development economics”. Journal of International Development 5(2): 237 -; 247.
• Folber, N. and Nelson, J.A. (2000) “For love or money -; or both?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 14(4): 123 -; 140.

Himmelweit, S. (2002) “Making visible the hidden economy: the case for gender-impact analysis of economic policy.” Feminist Economics 8(1): 49-70.

Special issue of Agenda: Gender and the economy in post-apartheid South Africa: Changes and challenges (2019). Volume 33, no. 4.

• Casale, D. and Posel, D. (2005) “Women and the economy: How far have we come?” Agenda 64: 21-29.

Hatch, M. and Posel, D. (2018) "Who cares for children? A quantitative study of childcare in South Africa". Development Southern Africa 35(2):267 -; 282.

Ntuli, M. and Wittenberg, M. (2013) Determinants of black women’s labour force participation in post-apartheid South Africa. Journal of African Economies 22(3): 347-374.

• Posel, D. (2014) "Gender inequality". In Bhorat, H., Hirsch, A., Kanbur, R, and Ncube, N. (eds.) Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 303-310.

Posel, D. and Rogan, M. (2012) "Gendered trends in poverty in the post-apartheid period, 1995 -; 2006". Development Southern Africa 29 (1): 97-113.

Lecture 11 : Rural-Urban Migration Ray, Ch. 10

Posel, D. (2010). Households and labour migration in post-apartheid South Africa. Studies in Economics and Econometrics, 34 (3), 129-;141.

Mulcahy, Kirsten and Kollamparambil, Uma (2016) “ Subjective well-being Impact of Rural -;Urban migration in South Africa”, Journal of Development Studies, 52, No. 9.

Kollamparambil, Uma (2017) Impact of internal in-migration on income inequality of receiving areas: A district level study of South Africa, Journal of Development Studies. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220388.2016.1277019

Lecture 12 : Rural Land and Credit markets. Ray, Ch. 11, 12 & 14

Banerjee, Abhijit, Paul Gertler and Maitresh Ghatak (2002), "Empowerment and Efficiency: Tenancy Reform in West Bengal," Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 110 (2), pp 239-280.

Burgess, Robin And Rohini Pande(2003), "Do Rural Banks Matter? Evidence from the Indian Social Banking Experiment," mimeo, Yale.

Morduch, Jonathan (1999), "The Microfinance Promise," Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 37 (4), pp. 1569-;1614.

Mosley Paul and Hulme (1998) "Microfinance enterprise: Is there a conflict between growth and poverty alleviation", World Development, Vol6 No.5

Muchnick J & Kollamparambil, Uma (2015) "Determinants of Microfinance Repayment Performance: A Study of South African MFIs" Journal Of Economic & Financial Sciences, Vol 8(2).

We are at a moment of unprecedent churn. Historical timelines are collapsing under the weight of compounded crisis – climate apocalypse, democratic backsliding, and geopolitical fragmentation – forcing the social sciences to urgently revisit a neglected subfield: the sociology of elites. For decades, the dominant subject of social enquiry in social sciences has been the subaltern. However, architecture of global inequality can no longer be understood by solely focusing on the oppressed. The post-pandemic era has clarified the stakes: with Oxfam (2025) reporting a surge in billionaire wealth by $2 trillion in a single year, this accumulation has come at a distinct price – the erosion of labour rights, the stomping on political freedoms, slowing down of public opportunities and possibilities for social mobility, the crumbling of public infrastructure, and a global drift towards fascism as elites finance authoritarianism to protect their gains.
By the end of this course, you will have the following:

• Conceptual and methodological training in ‘studying up’.
• Ability to perceive and deconstruct elite strategies of legitimation and wealth creation.
• Creative ways of responding to the polycrisis.

The extreme concentration of wealth has given rise to a new era of oligarchic assertion where economic power seamlessly translates into legal impunity. The Epstein files expose not just individual depravity, but a transnational infrastructure of impunity where pedophilia and sexual exploitation serve as currencies of bonding amongst the uber-wealthy. Rising authoritarianism in India, demonstrates how corporate elites and ethno-nationalist strongmen forge mutually beneficial pacts, while in the Global North, the Trump administration’s antagonism towards South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies signals the resurgence of white supremacist logics cloaked in trade protectionism. Technocrats like Mark Zuckenberg and Elon Musk can supersede the power of nation-states through their technological interventions that orchestrate elections in favor of right-wing governments and provide satellite support when autocratic governments blackout internet connections during mass protests as seen recently in Iran. Having exhausted the planetary commons, for the first time in the history of humanity, the elites are now engineering their exodus – from colonizing Mars to retreating into their hyper-securitised bunkers. To respond to inequality today, we must shift our gaze up to identify elite actors and visiblise the processes through which they hoard power, opportunities, and map the profound instabilities they introduce into our socio-political ecosystems.

In this elective paper, we will engage with conceptual and methodological pathways to understand inequality by focusing on elite actors. Some of the questions that will guide our class discussions are: who are elite actors? Are nation borders for the poor? What is the philosophical underpinning that motivates technocrats to perceive themselves as demi-gods? What are the escapist elite strategies in the wake of the unfolding climate crisis? How have elites safeguarded themselves behind the high securitized walls of private cities while weakening public institutions? How do elites justify their existence and legitimate their wealth making activities? Is the face of wealth still white, male, and upper-caste men? What are the characteristics of wealth inequality and elite action in the global South? Through the course of the sessions, we will look out for ways to hold elites accountable.

Course Mark
Participation 10%
Summary and critique 15%
AI - Diary 5%
Presentation 30%
Final Essay: Draft proposal 40%
Total 100%

A student will be considered as having successfully completed the course (i.e. pass) if the course mark is at least 50% AND the mark for the invigilated components of the course is at least 50%.
A student who attains an overall course pass-mark but does not meet the sub-minimum requirement for the invigilated component will be awarded a mark of 45% and considered as “Fail: does not meet subminimum requirements”.

Key Texts
Armytage, R. (2020). Big capital in an unequal world: The micropolitics of wealth in Pakistan. Berghahn Books.
Clancy, L. (2021). Running the family firm: How the monarchy manages its image and our money. Manchester University Press.
Innes, D. (1984). Anglo American and the rise of modern South Africa. Monthly Review Press.
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Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

The course is meant to welcome the international students and help them feel at ease in the Italian cultural and linguistic context. The course is organized by the University Language Center (CLA-UniTO) for the international students of the degree courses taught in English
Students are expected to:

• develop communication skills in Italian in order to feel at ease with everyday life in Italy at a beginner level
• learn the main vocabulary, morpho-syntactic structures and phonological features of Italian at a beginner level (CEFR A1)

acquire basic intercultural skills

English Italiano CEFR A1-level syllabus (see pdf attached) Sillabo di riferimento per il livello A1 del QCER (vd pdf allegato)

Final exam during the sessions organized throughout the academic year.

For the attending students (at least 70% of classes attended):

• The learning material will be provided by the teacher according to the topics dealt with during the classes. Specific exercises and materials will be made available through e-learning platforms

For the non-attending students (less than 70% of classes attended)

• one handbook to be chosen between: Nuovo espresso A1 (Alma edizioni) or Nuovo contatto A1 (Loescher).

one grammar book to be chosen between:Gramm.it (Bonacci) or Via della grammatica (Edilingua)

English Italiano The course is meant to welcome the international students and help them feel at ease in the Italian cultural and linguistic context. The course is organized by the University Language Center (CLA-UniTO) for the international students of the degree courses taught in English. Il corso si configura come una forma di accoglienza per facilitare l’inserimento nel contesto culturale italofono. È realizzato dal Centro Linguistico di Ateneo (CLA-UniTO) e ha come obiettivo un’iniziale formazione linguistica e culturale in italiano per gli studenti internazionali dei corsi di laurea triennali, magistrali e a ciclo unico erogati in inglese. English Italiano Students are expected to: develop communication skills in Italian in order to feel at ease with everyday life in Italy at a beginner level learn the main vocabulary, morpho-syntactic structures and phonological features of Italian at a beginner level (CEFR A1) acquire basic intercultural skills Gli studenti sono tenuti a: sviluppare competenze comunicative in italiano tali da potersi relazionare in situazioni di vita quotidiana a un livello pre-intermedio acquisire il lessico e le principali strutture morfo-sintattiche e fonetiche dell’italiano ad un livello principiante (A2 del QCER) acquisire una competenza interculturale di base

English Italiano CEFR A2-level syllabus (see pdf attached) Sillabo di riferimento per il livello A2 del QCER (vedi pdf allegato)

English Italiano For the attending students (at least 70% of classes attended): partial assessment during the classes oral exam: a self presentation, a description of pictures and a dialogue For the non-attending students (less than 70% of classes attended): written exam: a computer-based test based on the A1-level language skills in Italian according to the CEFR. Students must pass the written part in order to take the oral exam. oral exam: a self presentation, a description of pictures and a dialogue Final exam during the sessions organized throughout the academic year. Per gli studenti frequentanti: valutazione in itinere durante il corso prova orale: presentazione personale, descrizione di immagini e dialogo Per gli studenti non frequentanti: prova scritta: test sulle competenze linguistiche previste dal livello A2 del QCER. è obbligatorio superare l’esame scritto per poter accedere all’orale. prova orale: presentazione personale, descrizione di immagini e dialogo Esame finale negli appelli previsti. Gli studenti che frequentano almeno il 70% delle lezioni sincrone sono esonerati dalla prova scritta.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Voto Finale.

Tipo di esame: Orale. Valutazione: Giudizio Finale.