Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Economia e Statistica "Cognetti de Martiis"

Innovation and technologies policies

Innovation and technologies policies

Anno accademico 2024/2025

Sommario insegnamento

• Avvisi
• Obiettivi formativi
• Risultati dell'apprendimento attesi
• Programma
• Modalità di insegnamento
• Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
• Attività di supporto
• Testi consigliati e bibliografia
• Note
• Strumenti didattici
• Scheda del corso

Avvisi

Obiettivi formativi

Students will be taught the theoretical and practical foundations of public policies for research and innovation within economics. The objective is to gain a deep understanding of public interventions on major economic issues, allowing active participation in the debate regarding the adopted policies. Furthermore, students will be able to analyze and discuss the structural and cyclical public finance issues in industrialized economies, focusing on Italy.

Risultati dell'apprendimento attesi

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course, students will have acquired the basic skills necessary to recognize the main factors influencing the public sector's decisions and modes of intervention regarding possible corrections to market failures. The acquired knowledge will enable them to delve into the motivations for public intervention in the main areas of public spending and to evaluate the main areas of public expenditure and revenue quantitatively. This also includes analyzing the effect of taxes and public production on the decisions of consumers and businesses and market equilibrium. Additionally, students will be able to define the consequences of public intervention on economic growth, specific decision-making variables characterizing firms, and the economy's capacity for innovation, both in terms of processes and products.

Autonomy of judgment: The skills acquired during the course will enable students to develop a critical capacity in analyzing the motivations and decisions of public officials, with a specific focus on the role of the government. This analysis extends to regulatory activities and choices made in major areas of public expenditure. Regarding tax imposition, students will be able to understand and evaluate the main reasons behind preferences among consumption, income, and wealth taxes, as well as the consequences for consumer and business investment choices.

Communication skills: Students will be introduced to the nuances of economic language within the context of public intervention, gaining mastery of the specific terminology of the sector. This will enable them to use appropriate and precise vocabulary in professional and academic contexts where they will be called to operate. Additionally, students can make connections between the content, including implicit elements, found in exam texts and materials provided by the instructor through the course webpage.

Ability to learn: The objective is to provide students with the foundations to develop an approach that guides them in critically evaluating economic analyses and judgments conveyed by both traditional and digital media. This includes correctly interpreting information related to various forms of economic activity and specific categories of public intervention. Furthermore, the knowledge acquired, along with the analytical categories and methodology of studying public economics, will serve as a fruitful basis for achieving further learning milestones in the field of public policy.

Programma

The introductory themes of public economics will be addressed. The course will begin with a quantitative characterization of public economic activity in Italy, analyzing public finance balances over time. This analysis will provide the context to understand the scope and evolution of public intervention. Subsequently, theories justifying public operator intervention in a market economy will be explored. The objective is to examine public intervention's reasons, forms, limits, and outcomes, focusing on market failures and potential corrections.

A portion of the course will then be dedicated to studying the three main sectors of public expenditure: healthcare, social security, and education. In this section, students will analyze how public decisions are made to allocate resources in these essential sectors. Economic dynamics, public policies, and major challenges in each area will be examined. The goal is to understand the impact of public spending policies on society and the economy and to assess the effectiveness of public interventions in technological development, research, and innovation to promote growth, employment, and productivity.

Attention will then turn to an introduction to tax analysis. Different types of taxes will be explored, and their implications will be critically discussed, focusing on the effects of taxes on economic agents’ behaviour and business investment decisions. Students will examine how fiscal policies influence economic efficiency and equity and how they can be used to achieve economic policy objectives.

Finally, the program will explore Italy's public research and innovation system. In particular, it will be discussed how a strong base in national scientific education and research is a fundamental prerequisite for innovation capacity in new science-based industries. As universities play a central role in national innovation systems, especially in Europe, any reforms concerning tertiary education systems have significant implications for national and regional innovation systems. The possibility of a compromise between university missions, especially academic excellence and local knowledge spillovers useful for economic growth, will be evaluated. The goal is to examine the regional knowledge networks and modes of engagement between universities and the business community that have increasingly been encouraged by public policies to identify a new set of activities through which higher education institutions interact with their communities - knowledge transfer - in addition to the two traditional roles of teaching and research.

Main topics:

• Elements of Italian Public Finance
• Tools of normative analysis (Welfare economics; First and second fundamental theorem of welfare economics; Market failure)
• Education: why is publicly provided and financed
• Government and the market for healthcare
• Social security, private insurance and market failures
• Introduction to taxation, tax incidence and economic efficiency
• Regional innovation systems and the role of universities in regional economic development and innovation

Modalità di insegnamento

The teaching methodology (presentation of topics using slides, discussions, and exercises) consists of two-hour lectures as per the academic calendar. Attendance is recommended.

Thematic deep dives will be offered to students, organized into small groups to discuss, analyze, and present their findings in class.

Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento

The learning outcomes will be assessed through a written exam (duration: 60 minutes).

The written exam will consist of three sections:

First Section: 15 multiple-choice questions based on the texts/materials used in the course. Scoring: +1 for each correct answer; -0.5 for each incorrect answer; 0 points for each unanswered question. (Maximum score: 15 points)

Second Section: 1 open-ended question based on the texts/materials used in the course. The answer will be evaluated on a scale of 0 to 8 points. (Maximum score: 8 points)

Third Section: 1 exercise based on the texts/materials used in the course. The exercise will be evaluated on a scale of 0 to 8 points. (Maximum score: 8 points)

The final score will be the sum of the scores from the three sections (31 = 30 cum laude)

Exams will be conducted in person.

Attività di supporto

For the academic year 2024/25, there will be no tutorials or exercises planned.

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (DSA) or disabilities are requested to familiarize themselves with the support procedures and accommodations provided by the University of Turin. These can be found at the following links:

Support services for students with disabilities: Unito Disability Support

Welcoming students with disabilities: Unito Welcome for Students with Disabilities

Exam support procedures: Support for students with disabilities during exams

These resources detail the necessary procedures for receiving support during exams and provide additional information on accommodations available to ensure an inclusive academic environment.

Alternatively, any textbook on Public Finance or the Economics of the Public Sector could be used.

Slides, readings and other training-aids that will be provided by the teacher (uploaded on the web page of the teaching) that will be discussed during classes

Reading list (1):

• Barra, C., Maietta, O.W., and Zotti, R. (2017). Innovation and university-firm R&D collaboration in the European food and drink industry. Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 68, 3, 749-780.
• Barra, C., Maietta, O.W., and Zotti, R. (2019). Academic excellence, local knowledge spillovers and innovation in Europe. Regional Studies, 53:7, 1058-1069.
• Bonaccorsi, A., Haddaway, H., Cicero, T., and Ul-Hassan, S. (2017). The solitude of stars. An analysis of the distributed excellence model of European universities. Journal of Informetrics, 11, 435-; 454.
• Maietta, O. W. (2015). Determinants of university-;firm R&D collaboration and its impact on innovation: A perspective from a low-tech industry. Research Policy, 44, 1341-;1359.
• Barra, C., Maietta, O.W., and Zotti, R (2021). The effects of university academic research on firm’s propensity to innovate at local level: evidence from Europe. The Journal of Technology Transfer (2021) 46:483-;530.
• Bonaccorsi, A. (2017). Addressing the disenchantment: universities and regional development in peripheral regions. Journal of Economic Policy Reform, 20, 293-;320.
• Goldstein, H. A., and Renault, C. S. (2004). Contributions of universities to regional economic development: A quasi-experimental approach. Regional Studies, 38, 733-;746.
• Laursen, K., Reichstein, T., and Salter, A. (2011). Exploring the effect of geographical proximity and university quality on university-industry collaboration in the United Kingdom. Regional Studies, 45, 507-;523
• Leten, B., Landoni, P., and Van Looy, B. (2014). Science and graduates: How do firms benefit from the proximity of universities? Research Policy, 43, 1398-;1413.

Reading list (2):

• Agasisti, Barra and Zotti (2019). Research, knowledge transfer, and innovation: The effect of Italian universities’ efficiency on local economic development 2006−2012, Journal of Regional Science, 59:819-;849.
• Amendola, A., Barra, C., and Zotti, R. (2023). Universities, local economic productivity and quality of institutions: evidence from Italy. International Regional Science Review, 46(2) 179-;209.
• Amendola, A., Barra, C., and Zotti, R. (2020). Does graduate human capital production increase local economic development? An instrumental variable approach. Journal of Regional Science, 60 (5): 31-36.
• Anderson, R., Quigley, J. M., and Wilhelmson, M. (2004). University decentralization as re- gional policy: the Swedish experiment. Journal of Economic Geography, 4 (4): 371-388
• Cermeño, A. L. (2019). Do universities generate spatial spillovers? Evidence from U. S. counties between 1930 and 2010. Journal of Economic Geography 19 (6): 1173-1210.
• Kantor, S., and Whalley, A. (2014). Knowledge spillovers from research universities: Evidence from endowment value shocks. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 96 (1): 171-188.
• Kantor, S., and Whalley, A. (2019). Research proximity and productivity: long-term evidence
• from agriculture. Journal of Political Economy, 127 (2): 819-854.
• Valero, A., and Van Reenen, J. (2019). The economic impact of universities: Evidence from across the globe. Economics of Education Review, 68: 53-67
• Andrews , M. J. (2023). How do institutions of higher education affect local invention? Evidence from the establishment of U.S. colleges. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15, 2, 1-;41.

Note

To take the exam, you must register using the ESSE3 system.

The course will be held in person. The materials used during classes will be shared on the Moodle course page.

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (DSA) or disabilities are requested to familiarize themselves with the support procedures and accommodations provided by the University of Turin. These can be found at the following links:

Support services for students with disabilities: Unito Disability Support

Welcoming students with disabilities: Unito Welcome for Students with Disabilities

Exam support procedures: Support for students with disabilities during exams

• Materiale didattico
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