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School of Social Sciences

School of Social Sciences of the University of Trento

Doctoral programme in

Economics
and Management
29cycle - 2013/2014 entry

An overview
of the Programme

Why the doctoral programme in

Economics and Management
The doctoral programme in Economics and Management (E&M),
sponsored by the Department of Economics and Management, was
established in 2004 with the aim of providing state-of-the-art research
training and advanced professional skills in economic and managerial
sciences. In addition to providing solid foundations in the relevant
disciplines, including a broad range of quantitative methods, the
programme places special emphasis on methodologies for rigorous
behavioural approaches to economic decision-making, ranging from
traditional techniques to recent developments in experimental methods
and computable economics.
In 2011 E&M joined the School of Social Sciences, a multi-doctoral school
that also offers programmes in Sociology and Social Research and in
Global Dynamics and Local Development. In addition to sharing common
spaces, the School is a valuable asset in that it pursues ever-increasing
coordination and exchanges across the three programmes, fostering
interdisciplinary connections and providing students a wide range of
teaching and research opportunities as well as a lively international and
multi-cultural community.

The three-year Programme at a glance*

1st year 2013-14
October 2013
November-January
February
February-June
June
September
October 2014
2nd year 2014-15
November-January
February
October
3rd year 2015-16
February
June
November
April 2017

Arrival and Crash course in Mathematics

Choice of the course plan and curriculum
Assignment of tutors
1st term courses
Exams
2nd term courses
Exams
Retakes
Confirmation/Request of change of curriculum
Admission to 2nd year
Seminar courses
Workshop on academic writing
Assignment of thesis and supervisor
Research project
1st Research paper
Admission to 3rd year
Workshop on academic writing
2nd Research paper
1st Graduation session
2nd Graduation session

* This is only an illustrative programme. The official programme will be distributed to students in due time.

Courses
E&M consists of a set of common mandatory courses and two curricula
with specialised courses.
The common courses are Behavioural economics, Microeconomics,
Macroeconomics, Statistics, Econometrics, and Organisation and
Management.
The curriculum in Behavioural Economics focuses on foundations
of decision-making and bounded rationality, and develops different
behavioural approaches to the economic analysis of individuals, markets,
and institutions, mostly based on experimental methods, computable
economics, and agent-based models and techniques. Specialised courses
include Experimental Methods, Computable Economics, and Game
Theory.
The curriculum in Management focuses on organisation theory and
organisational and social decision-making, industrial processes and
innovation management, organisation design and corporate governance,
and financial instruments and markets. Methods include simulations
for managerial decision-making and management practices and firm
performance. Specialised courses include Industrial Dynamics, Finance,
and Corporate Governance.

Cotutelle-de-these:
opportunities for co-tutorship of theses
E&M offers a limited number of scholarships for 2013/2014 entry to
shortlisted applicants who would like to obtain a double doctoral degree.
A cotutelle programme allows a doctoral student to obtain a double
doctoral degree within the framework of an agreement between the two
participating institutions. Each cotutelle-de-thse is carried out through
the cooperative supervision of two professors, one from the University
of Trento and one from the partner university. The student must fulfil the
respective requirements for a doctorate at both universities.
E&M offers cotutelle-de- these agreements with the following university
partners:
University of St. Andrews - UK
University of Jena - Germany

The Cognitive and Experimental Economics

Laboratory (CEEL)
Key support for teaching and research in the fields of behavioural and
experimental economics is provided by CEEL (http://www-ceel.economia.
unitn.it/), the in-house laboratory of the DEM. The research activity of the
CEEL relies on experimental methods to advance the understanding of
how human cognition affects economic behaviour.

Research is conducted in a lively interdisciplinary environment that

draws from economics, cognitive psychology, and organizational studies.
CEEL also offers young scholars research-training opportunities through
workshops, research grants, and partnerships with Ph.D. Programmes.

Other facilities
The School provides doctoral students with:
a personal desk and internet connection in a room equipped with PCs
and personal productivity software
access to a certain number of licensed computer programs for special
needs
mailboxes
telephone access for local calls
access to a photocopier and printer
access to databases
a personal budget for mobility expenses (conferences, seminars,
summer schools, etc.)

Research with
the E&M Programme

Research opportunities
Departmental research is the backbone of a doctoral programme. DEM
offers doctoral students many opportunities to develop their research
projects in the core fields of the doctoral programme as well as in other
areas.
In the field of Behavioural Economics, research proposals are welcome
on issues related to Experimental economics, such as experimental
approach to strategic decision-making and game-theoretic analysis, tax
evasion, intertemporal decision-making, choice under risk and uncertainty.
Research projects are mainly developed in the Cognitive and Experimental
Economics Laboratory (CEEL http://www-ceel.economia.unitn.it/).
The Algorithmic Social Sciences Research Unit (www.assru.economia.
unitn.it) welcomes research projects dealing with theoretical as well as
applied issues related with Computable economics, Classical behavioural
economics and Macroeconomics with particular focus on business cycles,
growth and development, the Simon-Velupillais algorithmic approach
to economic decision-making and processes and the von-NeumannLeontief-Sraffian production schemes.
In the Management field, we would welcome proposals on issues
such as micro studies of innovation; networks of innovation; patterns
of firms internationalization; organizational issues of global unbundling;
technical advancements and productivity growth; firms growth; corporate
governance in family business; organization of massively distributed
labour; and corporate finance.

Apart from the core fields of the programme, DEM offers a wider range of
other research opportunities:
Economics of institutions organisations and firms, business ethics,
corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, non-profit
organisations;
Behavioural cost management and decision-making, management
control systems
Economics of globalisation, trade and emerging markets, global
imbalances, commodity market analysis and policies, and development
and poverty policies;
Environmental studies and sustainable local development; sustainable
tourism;
Macroeconomics and finance, theoretical and empirical models of
macroeconomic connections with financial markets; monetary and
financial policies in particular in Europe; problems of financial instability
and stabilisation in a network perspective;
Management and regulation of financial intermediaries, corporate
finance for small-medium firms, risk management, pricing of financial
instruments;
Household and labour economics, household choices especially
regarding employment, schooling, and gender issues;
Economic, business, and bank history;

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Quantitative methods in various fields such as mathematical tools

for individual and collective decision-making; statistical methods
for dynamic geo-databases and spatial concentration of economic
activities; financial statistical methods for standard and non-standard
risk analysis management; stochastic processes; time-series
econometrics applied to macro and financial data and models;
econometrics for panel data and micro-data.
Seminar meetings will be organized with DEM research groups in the first
semester of the second year.
Further information can be found on the Department website
www.unitn.it/economia.

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Internationalization
The E&M programme has been designed to offer students the best
research environment and opportunities, which means first of all creating a
stimulating international network.
E&M is part of the network IMPRS on Adapting Behaviour in a
Fundamentally Uncertain World and the International Max Planck
Research School organized by the Max Planck Institute Jena and other
host universities (http://www.imprs.econ.mpg.de/Flyer%20Research%20
School.pdf ).
The E&M faculty has developed extensive networks of international
relationships, which can help students organise visiting periods in foreign
institutions or co-supervisions.
In addition, E&M offers an intensive calendar of seminars and conferences
held by distinguished international scholars. These have included, among
others, Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2001; J. Barkley
Rosser, James Madison University; Suh-Heng Chen, National Chengchi
University; John Driffill, Birkbeck University of London; Jonathan Leland,
National Science Foundation; Alan Kirman, University of Marseille.

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Some practical
instructions

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Please read carefully the call for applications on the School of Social
Sciences website www.unitn.it/en/drss
9 Scholarships available:
about 1, 200 euros a month
50 per cent increase of the scholarship for research abroad
additional funding for research expenses
E&M offers 9 full scholarships for three years, subject to satisfactory
academic appraisal. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit,
meaning that they will be offered to the top candidates of the final ranking:
7 scholarships sponsored by the University of Trento
1 scholarship sponsored by Fondazione Bruno Kessler on Behavioural
Economics applied to public policy and social welfare
1 scholarship sponsored by Telecom on Behavioural Economics
analysis on mobile consumers habits over personal data.

Admission requirements
Applications are invited from candidates, regardless of gender, age,
religion or nationality, who hold an Italian laurea specialistica (or
magistrale) according to Ministerial Decree no. 509 of 03/11/1999
and subsequent amendments, or other university degree according to
the previous regulations in force, or an equivalent degree qualification
obtained abroad.
Applications are also accepted from candidates who can certify that they
qualify to obtain their degree by October 31, 2013.

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If conditionally accepted, the candidate must deliver full documentation

of his/her degree by November 15, 2013.

Documents to be submitted
photocopy of the applicants identity card or passport
degree diplomas
curriculum vitae in English
research proposal
See detailed information on the Call for 2013/2014 entry.

English Language requirements

The programme is conducted entirely in English and an excellent working
knowledge of that language, including a proven writing ability, is an
indispensable requirement for admission.

Selection procedure
Admission to the School is on a competitive basis.
The procedure consists of two stages. A shortlist of candidates is first
produced on the basis of the assessment of their curriculum, research
proposal, and reference letters. Shortlisted candidates are then invited
to an interview in Trento. Non-Italian candidates may be interviewed by
phone or videoconference.

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Fees
The PhD programme currently does not charge tuition. Admitted students
however are required to pay an annual student fee of about euro 120.

Deadline for applying: July 3, 2013

For further information please contact

School of Social Sciences
via Verdi 26 38122 Trento (IT)
ph. + 39 0461 282290/3756
fax: + 39 0461 282335
school.socialsciences@unitn.it

www.unitn.it/en/drss

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