PhD in Methods and Models for Economic Decisions

The PhD program lasts three years and all its activities are in English. Each post is endowed with a scholarship of about € 16,243 gross per year. Each student is endowed with an additional budget of about € 1,624 per year for research activities.

The PhD program is hosted by the Department of Economics of the University of Insubria (located in Varese, Italy), which has been granted the “Departments of Excellence” award and funding plan for the period 2023 – 2027 by the ANVUR (Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes), ranking 8th among the Italian departments of economics and statistics.

Topic and goals

A significant part of economic analysis focuses on decision-making processes. Consumers and producers, workers and firms, banks and managers, households and policy makers continuously make decisions which are economically relevant. Economists are interested in understanding, predicting or modifying the processes underlying these decisions.

The analysis of decisions relies on methods and models that differ significantly across various fields of economic research. For instance, classical decision theory is largely based on abstract mathematical models, while more recent research in behavioral decision theory often relies on experimental methods. Econometric tools are used to investigate the determinants of specific decisions, such as those concerning labor, transports, or health. Computational methods are used to simulate how artificial agents interact, and to investigate the economic effects of their interaction.

The PhD program in Methods and Models for Economic Decisions trains young researchers to master the variety of theoretical and applied approaches that are used in economics for analyzing decision-making processes.

Faculty

The PhD Board includes faculty members of Insubria University as well as faculty members of other Italian and foreign universities. See the PhD webpage for the complete faculty list.

Organization

In the first year of the program, students attend compulsory courses where they acquire a broad set of research skills in theoretical and data analysis, that allow them to tackle the complex phenomena related to decision making. Courses focus on three main areas of research: (i) the economic theory of decision making, in the mainstream as well as behavioral version; (ii) econometric techniques to analyze economic decisions recorded either in the laboratory or in the field; (iii) the study of economic indicators of risk and inequality associated with the outcome of collective choices. See the PhD webpage for the complete list of courses. . The PhD courses in the next academic year will start in November 2023. The scholarship can be increased by 50% when a student visits foreign universities and institutions

PhD dissertation: The dissertation is usually made of three research papers and is delivered at the end of the third year.

Admission requirements

The selection procedure is open to candidates who hold a Master’s Degree (Laurea Magistrale) or a 4-year Degree previous to the Ministerial Decree no. 509/1999 (Laurea quadriennale vecchio ordinamento), or equivalent academic title (Master’s Degree) obtained abroad, without age or citizenship restrictions.

Graduands may conditionally access the selection procedure, provided that they obtain the required admission qualification by 31 October 2023, under penalty of exclusion in case of positive outcome of the selection procedure.

Full details for applying to the academic year 2023-24 (Cycle 39):  here (in Italian) and here (in English). The full call for applications can be found here (in Italian) and here (in English)

Visit Website