Program

The Summer School starts on Tuesday, July 5^th in the morning and ends on Thursday, July 7^th in the afternoon.

Download the booklet of the summer school (including the final program)

 Rethinking Capitalism Post Covid: The Power of Creative Destruction  (P. Aghion)

This series of lecture will show how the Schumpeterian growth paradigm can be used to shed light on issues such as the relationship between competition and innovation and the secular stagnation debate, on the relationship between innovation-led growth and inequality, on the effect of automation on employment, and on the role of innovation in curbing climate change. By the end of this module, students should be able to apply and interpret theories of innovation and growth to address open economics questions that are particularly relevant to the current post-Covid times.

 The cultural and historical roots of comparative development  (S. Michalopoulos)

Weighing the shadow of history on contemporary economic and political outcomes occupies an increasing part of the agenda in comparative development. This course will focus on recent contributions in the literature. The goal is to get you thinking about the big historical processes that have shaped the modern world. We will go over background concepts, critically review recent works and talk about new research designs. Specifically, we will discuss recent GIS applications, the use of census data to measure mobility and intergenerational changes across space, and the integration of text analysis in the context of cultural economics.

 Gender, fertility choices and economic growth  (C. Garcia-Peñalosa)

This module will consider the role of gender and fertility in the growth process. Unified Growth Theory has emphasized the importance of the fertility transition for the switch to modern growth, and raised considerable debate. The first question we will address concerns the extent to which the fertility transition can be argued to be driven by economic factors. Second, we will focus on the relationship between gender equality and growth, examining the potential mechanisms that link these two aspects and discussing the difficulty of identifying causal relationships.

 On the long-term socioeconomic effects of epidemics  (R. Boucekkine)

The ongoing Covid crisis has triggered a tsunami of papers and research programs. An intriguing question is whether even short-lived epidemic shocks may have long-term socioeconomic effects. In this module, we will review some of the recurrent arguments put forward in economic history and unified growth theory. Particular attention will be then given to the main economic transmission mechanisms outlined in the recent economic literature. The final question addressed is: what is specific about the Covid pandemic?

 Workshop and poster sessions 

Students are strongly encouraged to present their research in workshop and poster sessions during the Summer School. This is a unique opportunity to have focused and valuable feedback from peers and from distinguished faculty. The schedule of paper presentations and poster sessions will be distributed in due course.

At the conclusion of the Summer School, participants will receive a certificate of attendance outlining the number of hours attended. Interested students should check with their universities to see if these hours are transferable into ECTS credits.