The reading group presents recent contributions to Development Economics and Inequality. It covers three broad areas: Development Economics, Rural Development, and Poverty and Inequality. The main aim is to introduce PhD students to frontier research and to provide an opportunity to discuss and develop new ideas in an informal setting.

Organizers:  Alessandra Pelloni, Alessandro Piergallini, Furio-Camillo Rosati, Pasquale Scaramozzino.

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Pasquale Scaramozzino

Link to syllabus (updated September 25, 2025)

The macro reading group offers a forum to read, present, and discuss current research in macroeconomics. In each meeting, one of the students presents a paper of their choice, followed by a general discussion. Students from all cohorts are welcome to attend, and more senior students (second-year and above) are encouraged to present their own research projects. By attending the macro reading group, students familiarize themselves with the macro literature, learn how to present and provide constructive feedback, and get inspiration for their own research.

Organizers: Andrey Alexandrov, Cosimo Petracchi, Paolo Varraso

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Cosimo Petracchi

We plan to discuss published and recent working papers in Microeconometrics and Causal Inference, with a focus on methodological issues and technical challenges often encountered in the field. Ongoing research within our department is also welcome. Our aim is to advance our understanding of current microeconometric methodologies, all within a collaborative and informal setting.

Organizers: Tiziano Arduini, Federico Belotti, Sara Biadetti

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Tiziano Arduini

Link to syllabus

The reading group in Microeconomics aims at offering to PhD students and interested researchers the possibility to discuss recent advances in microeconomics (both theory and empirics) and in industrial organization.  

The group is intended for students (enrolled in or considering enrolling in a PhD program) and researchers interested in discussing recent advances in microeconomics and industrial organization (both theoretical and empirical), with a focus on algorithms and data and their applications in economics.

The meetings will provide an opportunity to:

•  present and discuss own ongoing research or research ideas,
•  review recently published papers in leading economics journals and explore recent working papers.

Meetings could also be used for methodological help, to present ideas at an early stage of development (both by faculty and students) and/or problematic steps.

The organizers will propose some selected research themes, which may also be adapted depending on the students’ interests. The reading group will meet on a regular basis, every three weeks/month, and discuss the agreed materials. All participants to the reading group are expected to read the materials (when available), to be ready for presentations and discussion during the meetings. 

Topics of interest (the list can be adapted) are:

• Digital Markets and Algorithms: regulation and competition policy issues; 
• Power in market and non-market settings, Defense economics;
• Market Design: Energy markets, Health services. 

Organizers: Eloisa Campioni, Anna D’Annunzio, Guillaume Pommey, Giancarlo Spagnolo, and Juha Tolvanen.

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Anna D’Annunzio.

Timing: We plan to meet once a month at 1:30-3:00 p.m. on the following dates in classroom G:

• October 24
• November 21
• December 5
• February 13 (time subject to change)
• March 13
• April 24
• May 15

The first meeting, on October 24, will be devoted to discussing this proposed focus with all participants. If there is consensus on a different direction, we will adapt accordingly. Because this is the first year of the group, we also plan to revisit the format throughout the year to ensure it evolves in line with participants’ interests.

The first meeting is also meant to serve as a presentation of the initiative, with all participants being able to propose future discussion themes.

The reading group in philosophy of economics aims to provide an open space for discussing ethical, epistemological, and political issues related to research in economics. At the outset, the group will focus on two main topics, with the intention of expanding the discussion based on participants' interests and the natural progression of debate: the ethical issue and the epistemological issue. The interconnection between these two will also be explored, particularly the tension between epistemic and non-epistemic values embedded in economic modeling. The discussion seeks to foster a deeper reflection 
on methodology and the broader context of economic research—how our work engages with human life and influences real-world outcomes, whether through policy design or the recommendations that emerge from economic theory.

Organizers: Annalisa Fabretti, Alessandra Pelloni, Roberto Pezzuto.

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Annalisa Fabretti. For joining the group on Teams: Join conversation

Link to Syllabus

The Reading Group in Quantitative Finance and Financial Econometrics explores topics at the intersection of financial econometrics, mathematical finance, and stochastic-process theory as applied to finance and insurance. In the current semester, discussions center on Artificial Intelligence in Finance, with a particular focus on the interaction between reinforcement learning and generative modeling.

Organizers: Katia Colaneri, Jodi Dianetti, Stefano Herzel, Paolo Pigato, Davide Pirino, Tommaso Proietti, Alessandro Ramponi.

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Jodi Dianetti.

When: Thursday from 16:00 to 18:00

Format: a 2h meeting every week in the fall semester. The first four meetings will consist of lectures on reinforcement learning. After that, in each meeting one of the participants will present a paper or book chapter, providing also the necessary relevant background. The presentation will be followed by a discussion. 

Preliminary selection of papers to be discussed

1. Algorithms for reinforcement learning. Szepesvári, C. (2022). Springer nature.
2. Reinforcement learning: An introduction. Sutton, R. S., & Barto, A. G. (1998). Cambridge: MIT press.
3. Learning in mean field games: A survey. Laurière, M., Perrin, S., Pérolat, J., Girgin, S., Muller, P., Élie, R., ... & Pietquin, O. (2022).  arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.12944. 
4. Recent advances in reinforcement learning in finance. Hambly, Ben, Renyuan Xu, and Huining Yang. Mathematical Finance 33.3 (2023): 437-503.
5. ... 

Discussion on papers recently published in leading economic journals or recent working papers by leading scholars in the field of political economy or labor economics (broadly defined). Papers looking at related topics in historical contexts/using historical data are also welcome.

Organizers: Elisa Facchetti, Stefano Gagliarducci, Giorgio Gulino, Lorenzo Neri, Francesco Sobbrio.

Responsible and reference for PhD students: Francesco Sobbrio.

Time and place: In the A.Y. 2025/26, the Reading Group will take place on Fridays at 1.30-3.00 pm in classroom G (2nd floor, Bldg B), in the following dates: 

September 26
October 3
October 10
October 17
November 6 (at 12pm, Sala del Consiglio)
November 14
November 28 (room A)
December 12 (room A)
February 6
February 20
March 6
March 27
April 17
May 8
May 22

Link to syllabus