This section aims at describing the innovative characteristics of ECOSTAT with respect to the PhD programs in economics and in statistics currently offered by other prestigious Italian and European universities, while details on each novelty are presented in the next sections.

Teaching activities

The first-year teaching activities are mainly devoted to structured courses (tool courses), which are compulsory. Some of these courses are fixed and specific to each curriculum, some are in common between the two curricula, some other courses are chosen by students within each curriculum.

Dynamic Macroeconomics/Forecasting

Students who are interested in this profile belong to the curriculum ECO, which is appropriately integrated in order to include courses on the following topics: advanced macroeconomics, advanced time series econometrics; Bayesian statistics; forecasting/nowcasting techniques.

Big Data Analytics/Data Science

Following this profile, students learn the key elements of programming and data management with focus on the analysis of large amounts of structured and unstructured data (e.g., natural language), the main paradigms of Big Data and data visualization, based on the use of innovative techniques of machine learning, text and web mining. This profile enables to gain advanced skills in project management, with particular reference to data driven innovation of decision processes.

Students who are interested in this profile come from the curriculum STAT, integrated with a selection of courses on the following topics: programming and languages for data management (Python and SQL); data management (data integration and data quality);  data analysis for economics and social sciences (SAS and R); architectures and paradigms for big data (relational DB vs No SQL); machine learning; text mining and web analytics; data visualization; project management.

Length of the program

The current length of many PhD programs in economics and statistics in Italy, including the PhD in Economics DEFAP-Bicocca and in Statistics and Mathematical Finance of UniMiB, is three yers. This length is insufficient to guarantee that the PhD theses meet the quality standards achieved by the best European PhD programs. For this reason, ECOSTAT lasts four years. This duration is in line with the recent choices of some of the best Italian PhD programs in economics and statistics, as well as the PhD programs in this area offered by the most prestigious European academic institutions.

Interdisciplinarity

Relations with the non-academic job market

Internationalization

The international experience which has flourished within the PhD in Economics DEFAP-Bicocca and the PhD in Statistics and Mathematical Finance of UniMiB, together with the professional networks developed by many faculty members, guarantees that ECOSTAT is particularly active in collaborating with prestigious foreign universities, in terms of both students and faculty members exchange programs and joint degrees.

ECOSTAT is managed by two bodies:

• the Program Committee (PC), that is the executive and decision-making board composed by full professors, associate professors and researcher of UniMiB and from other Italian and foreign universities and research institutions;
• the Advisory Board (AB), which collaborates with the PC to organize the teaching and research activities of the program, is headed by the program Coordinator and is formed by a limited number of professors and researchers who are representative of the two curricula.

The teaching activities proposed by ECOSTAT are organized during the first two years and differ for each curriculum, although some courses are common. Some economics courses at the first and the second year within the curriculum ECO can be offered jointly with the PhD program in Economics and in Economics and Finance of the Catholic University of Milan.

The Program Committee (PC) approves the (minimum) number of papers which form a typical PhD dissertation. These papers have to be potentially publishable on high-quality internationally refereed journals.

Supervision

In order to facilitate students in identifying a sound research project and a suitable supervisor, within the first part of the year the PC organizes a presentation of the research groups which are active among the PC and the Advisory Board (AB) members. Supervisors are asked to systematically monitor the progresses made by their supervisees and periodically report to the PC about the proceedings of their dissertations.

Seminars

PhD students, especially from the second year, are strongly invited to attend the department seminars organized on a weekly basis at UniMiB. Students of both curricula are also invited to present the progress of their research work in specific seminars, which are part of the student’s evaluation process and, if possible, are jointly organized in order to enhance cross-fertilization between economists and statisticians. 

Admission to third and fourth year

Admission to the third and fourth year is formalized by the PC, based on the evaluation of the student’s research work. Admission to the third year takes also into account the performance of each student in the second-year exams.

Admission to external evaluation

Fourth-year students should present, by the end of the year, the final version of their dissertation in front of the PC. If possible, each presentation will be assigned a discussant. The admission to the external reviewers is formalized by the PC, based on the overall evaluation of the PhD thesis.

Based on the reports of the external reviewers, students are admitted to the discussion in front of the Evaluation Committee either with minor or major revisions. Students who have successfully defended their dissertation are awarded by the Evaluation Committee the title of “PhD in Economics and Statistics”. Students can request to (and obtain from) the Administrative Offices of UniMiB an official document reporting the specific curriculum they have been enrolled in.

ECOSTAT takes care of the optimal placement of its students by dedicating a unit of administrative personnel to the following specific activities: i) provide students with detailed information on the job market, domestic and international, academic and non-academic; ii) advise and assist students wishing to apply for academic positions abroad.

A.A. 2020-2021 (cycle XXXVI)   Call for applications

PhD in Economics and Statistics    DEMS - University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy

The link to the official Call for Applications can be found here

The Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) of the University of Milan-Bicocca invites applications to its PhD Program in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) for the academic year 2020-21 (XXXVI cycle). The PhD Program is articulated in two curricula, Economics (ECO) and Statistics (STAT). The length of the PhD Program is four years, starting in November 2020. The precise starting date of the Program will be announced in due course.
We offer eight fellowships (for a period of four years) to the highest ranked applicants. Each  fellowship pays a grant of a minimum of € 16.200 (gross income) per year. The monthly allowance can be increased up to 50% for our PhD students visiting academic or scientific institutions abroad. The number of scholarships may increase if sponsorships on specific research projects become available. There will also be allowances (research funds) for short-period mobility (from the second year).
Additional scholarships and positions are also available. In particular, one additional scholarship is offered to excellent candidates willing enter the PhD program in order to develop a dissertation project focused on European studies. 
The selection procedure is regulated by the official Call for Applications (Bando di Concorso), which is expected to be published in the Italian Official Journal (Gazzetta Ufficiale) after the acknowledgment issued by Italian Governmental agencies, during the period 25th May 2020 – 26th June 2020, and also posted on the PhD School’s and on the PhD program’s websites. The official Call for Applications contains detailed information on: i) the documents which each candidate has to submit; ii) structure, contents and timing (second half of July 2020) of the entrance examination; iii) description of the projects related to the additional scholarships and positions.
 

The link to the official Call for Applications can be found here

The research activities which characterize the PhD programme in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) are carried out by an active and lively community of junior and senior researchers. Within DEMS, researchers are organized in clusters, among which the most relevant for ECOSTAT are:

- Business, economic and social statistics (coordinator: Prof. Pelagatti)

- Empirical microeconomics and microeconometrics (coordinator: Prof. Manera)

- Experimental and behavioural economics (coordinator: Prof. Stanca)

- Macroeconomics and macroeconometrics (coordinator: Prof. Morana)

- Microeconomics: theory and applications (coordinator: Prof. Gilli)

- Statistics (coordinator: Prof. Ongaro)

- Strategy, organization and innovation (coordinator: Prof. Torrisi)

Detailed information about people involved in each cluster can be found here. 

Faculty Presentation

On Tuesday 24^th September will take place the Research Groups presentations. The detailed program can be found here.

Presentations – Morning session (Catholic University of Milano)

10:00-10:30

Public and Political Economics (Presenter: Prof. Massimo Bordignon, Catholic University of Milano)

Break

11:00-11:30

Finance (Presenter: Prof. Alessandro Sbuelz, Catholic University of Milano)

11:30-12:00

Macroeconomics and Macro-Financial Econometrics (Presenter: Prof. Domenico Delli Gatti, Catholic University of Milano)

Break

12:30-13:00

Labour, Education, Health and Applied Microeconometrics (Presenter: Prof. Lorenzo Cappellari, Catholic University of Milano)

Presentations – Afternoon session (University of Milano-Bicocca)

14:30-14:50

International and Development Economics (Presenter: Prof. Silvia Marchesi, University of Milano-Bicocca)

14:50-15:10

Statistics – Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods (Presenter: Prof. Giorgio Vittadini, University of Milano-Bicocca)

15:10-15:30

Microeconomic Theory, Public Economics and Political Economics (Presenter: Prof. Mario Gilli, University of Milano-Bicocca)

15:30-15:50

Statistics – Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (Presenter: Prof. Nicola Lunardon, Universiy of Milano-Bicocca)

15:50-16:10

Behavioral and Experimental Economics (Presenter: Prof. Marco Mantovani, University of Milano-Bicocca)

16:10-16:30

Statistics – Department of Statistics (Presenter: Prof. Raffaele Argiento, Catholic Universiy of Milano)

16:30-16:50

Business and Economic Statistics – Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (Presenter: Prof. Matteo Pelagatti, University of Milano-Bicocca)  

Project Scolarships/Industrial positions

The PhD programme in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) is very active in establishing relationships between top-level education and research and the most advanced segments of the job market, both domestic and international. On this respect, the agreements and projects which have been signed with companies of primary importance for cycle XXXV are described at the link below.

Current Events

Statistical Learning (NEW!!!) 

The PhD in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) and the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) at the University of Milano-Bicocca is pleased to organize  the course Statistical Learning, held by Professor Rajen Shah, University of Cambridge, during the period October 5-30, 2020.

Detailed information on this course (instructor, objectives, programme, references, prerequistes) can be found here.

Timetable

We will host the lectures as a Zoom webinar.

Lectures will be in English, with the following schedule:

Module I

- Monday 5 October 10-13

- Tuesday 6 October 11-13

- Wednesday 7 October 11-13

- Friday 9 October 11.30 -13

- Monday 12 October 11-13

- Tuesday 13 October 11-13

- Friday 16 October 11.30-13

Module II

- Monday 19 October 10-13

- Tuesday 20 October 11-13

- Wednesday 21 October 11-13

- Friday 23 October 11.30-13

- Monday 26 October 11-13

- Tuesday 27 October 11-13

- Friday 30 October 11.30 -13

Enrollment & Application period

The course is addressed to Phd students, researchers, academics, professionals and practitioners with strong quantitative background (see Prerequisites) and motivation.

Application period: September 14, 2020 - September 25, 2020.

Applications should be addressed via e-mail to the ECOSTAT Administration Office (Dr. Silvia Locatelli, e-mail: phdecostat@unimib.it) and should include the following documents as attachments:

i) filled-out application form;

ii) updated curriculum vitae.

Admissions are conditional on place availability. No fees are requested.

The ECOSTAT Administration Office will contact non-admitted candidates only.

The application form can be downloaded here

Contacts

For more information:

Prof. Matteo Manera, Coordinator of ECOSTAT, e-mail: matteo.manera@unimib.it

Prof. Aldo Solari, ECOSTAT faculty member,  e-mail: aldo.solari@unimib.it

For administrative issues:

Dr. Silvia Locatelli, ECOSTAT Administration Office, e-mail: phdecostat@unimib.it

Past Events

• Statistical Learning and Big Data

The PhD in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) and the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) at the University of Milano-Bicocca is pleased to organize and host the course Statistical Learning and Big Data, held by Professor Saharon Rosset, Tel Aviv University, during the period October 7-18, 2019.

Detailed information on this course (instructor, objectives, programme, references, prerequistes) can be found here.

Venue and timetable

DEMS, University of Milano-Bicocca

Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy

October 7, 2019 – October 18, 2019

Lectures will be in English, with the following schedule:

Monday to Friday:  Lectures 14:30-17:00

Friday: Case studies 17:00-18:30

For information about the rooms see here

Fees and enrollment

- Non-academics: Euro 1200

- Academics (PhD students, post-docs, assistant professors, professors): Euro 600

- Academics (PhD students, post-docs, assistant professors, professors) of the University of Milano-Bicocca and of the Catholic University of Milano: no fee

- Participants attending one module only: 50% of the corresponding full fee

Application period

September 16, 2019 – September 27, 2019

Applications should be addressed via e-mail to the ECOSTAT Administration Office (Dr. Silvia Locatelli, e-mail: silvia.locatelli@unimib.it)  and should include the following documents as attachments: i) filled-out application form; ii) updated curriculum vitae. Admissions are conditional on place availability. The ECOSTAT Administration Office will contact non-admitted candidates only.

Fees payment period

September 25, 2019 – October 1, 2019

Payments should be made online only. To proceed with payment: 

please use the following link if your country of residence is Italy

link to payment procedure

please use the following link if your country of residence is not Italy

link to payment procedure no Italy

Contacts

For more information:

Prof. Matteo Manera, Coordinator of ECOSTAT, e-mail: matteo.manera@unimib.it

Prof. Aldo Solari, ECOSTAT faculty member,  e-mail: aldo.solari@unimib.it

For administrative issues:

Dr. Silvia Locatelli, ECOSTAT Administration Office, e-mail: silvia.locatelli@unimib.it

• The PhD programme in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) sponsors the 1^st CefES International Conference on European Studies, to be held at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Building U6, on June 10th-11^th 2019. Details on this event can be found here.
• The PhD programe in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT) sponsors the International Conference on Econometric Models of Climate Change, to be held at the University of Milano-Bicocca on August 29th-30^th 2019. Details on this event can be found here.
• Within the Seminar Series DEMS-ECOSTAT, Prof. Peter M Robinson (LSE),  will present the paper titled “Long-range dependent curve time series” (joint with Degui Li and Han Lin Shang). Prof. Robinson is one of the most famous econometricians worldwide and has been in the editorial bords of the most influential journals in econometrics and statistics, from Econometrica to the Journal of Econometrics, from the Journal of the American Statistical Association to the Annals of Statistics. Peter Robinson’s presentation is available here, while his paper is available here. This event will be held on February 14th 2019, 12.00am, at the Aula del Consiglio, U7, fourth floor, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 - Milano.
• Within the celebrative events of the Twentieth Anniversary of the University of Milan-Bicocca, the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics, in collaboration with the School for Graduate Studies, is pleased to announce the International Conference on The Mathematics of Subjective Probability. This event will be held on September  3rd-5th  2018, at Room U4/2, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 - Milano.
• Within the celebrative events of its Twentieth Anniversary, the University of Milan-Bicocca, in collaboration with its School for Graduate Studies, is pleased to announce the Lectio Magistralis of Prof. Robert Engle (NYU University), winner of the 2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, on “A Financial Approach to Environmental Risk”. This event will be held on June 22nd 2018, 10.00am, at the Auditorium Guido Martinotti U12, Via Vizzola 5, 20126 - Milano.
• The newly established CEnter for European Studies (CEfES-DEMS-UNIMIB), the PhD program in Economics and Statistics (ECOSTAT-UNIMIB), and the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS-UNIMIB) are delighted of organizing the one-day international conference on Economic and Financial Implications of Climatic Change. Two plenary sessions on the economic and financial implications of climatic change have been organized on June 22^nd 2018, following Prof. Robert Engle’s talk, from 11.30am to 4.45pm, at the Auditorium Guido Martinotti U12, Via Vizzola 5, 20126 - Milano.

I Term

The I term teaching activities start on 5 November 2018 and end on 22 December 2018.  The I term exam session starts on 7 January 2019 and ends on 12 January 2019. 

The timetable of the I term courses is available here.

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculm ECO are:

- Computational Statistics I (Instructor: Prof. Bertarelli)

- Mathematics I (in common with curriculum STAT; Instructor: Prof. Pireddu);

- Mathematics II (Instructor: Prof. Cavalli)

- Mathematics – Linear algebra (Instructor: Prof. Pecora)

- Mathematics III (Instructor: Prof. Longo)

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculm STAT are:

- Mathematics I (in common with curriculum ECO; Instructor: Prof. Pireddu);

- Mathematical Analysis (modules I, II and III; Instructors: Proff. Zanco, De Bernardi, Miglierina)

- Numerical Optimization (Instructor: Prof. Vacca) 

II Term

The II term teaching activities start on 14 January 2019 and end on 22 March 2019.  The II term exam session starts on 1 April 2019 and ends on 12 April 2019. 

The timetable of the II term courses is available here.

The courses/modules offered during the II term for the curriculm ECO are:

- Econometrics I – The Linear Regression Model (Instructor: Prof. Manera)

- Econometrics II – Microeconometrics (Instructor: Prof. Mancusi);

- Econometrics III – Time Series (in common with curriculum STAT; Instructor: Prof. Iacone)

- Microeconomics I – Consumption, Production, Market Forms  (Instructor: Prof. Athanasoglou)

- Microeconomics II – Game Theory (Instructor: Prof. Gilli)

- Microeconomics III – Contract Theory (Instructor: Prof. Colombo)

The courses/modules offered during the II term for the curriculm STAT are:

- Probability I (Instructor: Prof. Camerlenghi)

- Probability II (Instructor: Prof. Camerlenghi)

- Stochastic Processes (Instructor: Prof. Davydov)

- R for Data Science (Instructor: Prof. Furfaro)

- Statistical Inference I (Instructor: Prof. Lunardon)

- Econometrics III – Time Series (in common with curriculum ECO; Instructor: Prof. Iacone) 

III Term

The III term teaching activities start on 23 April 2019 and end on 30 June 2019.  The III term exam session starts on 8 July 2019 and ends on 19 July 2019. 

The timetable of the III term courses is available here. 

The courses/modules offered during the III term for the curriculum ECO are:

-  Macroeconomics I –  (Instructor: Prof. Femminis)

-  Macroeconomics II –  (Instructor: Prof. Tirelli);

-  Macroeconomics – (Instructor: Dr.ssa Albonico);

-  Macroeconomics III –  (Instructor: Prof. Ropele)

- Computational Statistics II – (in common with curriculum STAT; Instructor: Prof. Pini)

- Research Methods – (Instructor: Prof. Colussi)

- Finance I – Empirical Corporate Finance (Instructor: Prof. Signori)

- Finance II – Asset Pricing Theory (Instructor: Prof. Sbuelz)

- Finance III – Banking (Instructor: Prof. Cerasi)

The courses/modules offered during the III term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Statistical Inference II (Instructor: Prof. Solari)

- Statistical Inference III (Instructor: Prof. Dolera)

- Bayesian Statistics I (Instructor: Prof. Ntzoufras)

- Bayesian Statistics II (Instructor: Prof. Argiento)

- Computational Statistics II – (in common with curriculum ECO; Instructor: Prof. Pini)

- Data Management (Instructor: Prof. Maurino)

Some of the courses are offered jointly with the PhD program in Economics and Finance of the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC). For this reason, some lectures will be held at the premises of UCSC, as clearly indicated in the timetable.

IV Term

The IV term teaching activities start on late September 2019 and end on late November 2019.  The IV term exam session will be fixed in due course. 

The timetable of the IV term courses for the curriculum STAT is available here. 

The courses/modules offered during the IV term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Statistical Learning & Big Data (modules I & II) (Instructor: Prof. S. Rosset)

- Statistical Learning & Big Data (module III) (Instructor: Prof. A. Solari)

- Statistical Modelling (Instructors: Prof. F. Bartolucci, Prof. P. Berta, Prof.ssa F. Pennoni, Prof. M. Fattore) 

I Term

The I term teaching activities start on 4 November 2019 and end on 20 December 2019.  The I term exam session starts on 7 January 2020 and ends on 10 January 2020. 

The timetable of the I term courses is available here.

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculm ECO are:

- Computational Statistics I (Instructor: Prof. Bertarelli)

- Mathematics I (Instructor: Prof. Pireddu);

- Mathematics II (Instructor: Prof. Cavalli);

- Mathematics – Linear algebra (Instructor: Prof. Pecora);

- Mathematics III (Instructor: Prof. Longo)

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Mathematical Analysis (modules I, II and III; Instructors: Proff. Zanco, De Bernardi, Miglierina)

- Numerical Optimization (Instructor: Prof. Dassi) 

II Term

The II term teaching activities start on 13 January 2020 and end on 27 March 2020.  The II term exam session starts on 30 March 2020 and ends on 9 April 2020. 

The timetable of the II term courses is available here.

The courses/modules offered during the II term for the curriculm ECO are:

- Econometrics I – The Linear Regression Model (Instructor: Prof. Manera)

- Econometrics II – Microeconometrics (Instructor: Prof. Mancusi);

- Econometrics III – Time Series Part I & II (in common with curriculum STAT; Instructor: Dr. Bastianin)

- Microeconomics I – Consumption, Production, Market Forms  (Instructor: Prof. Athanasoglou)

- Microeconomics II – Game Theory (Instructor: Prof. Gilli)

- Microeconomics III – Contract Theory (Instructor: Prof. Colombo)

- Microeconomics IV – (Instructor: Prof. Bertoletti)

The courses/modules offered during the II term for the curriculm STAT are:

- Probability I (Instructor: Prof. Camerlenghi)

- Probability II (Instructor: Prof. Camerlenghi)

- Stochastic Processes (Instructor: Prof. Davydov)

- Computational Statistics II (in common with curriculum ECO – Instructor: Dr.ssa Pini)

- Statistical Inference I (Instructor: Prof. Lunardon)

- Econometrics III – Time Series Part I & II (in common with curriculum ECO; Instructor: Dr. Bastianin) 

III Term

The III term teaching activities start on 20 April 2020 and end on 3 July 2020. The III term exam session starts on 13 July 2020 and ends on 24 July 2020.

The timetable of the III term courses is available here. 

The courses/modules offered during the III term for the curriculum ECO are:

-  Macroeconomics I –  (Instructor: Prof. Femminis)

-  Macroeconomics III –  (Instructor: Prof. Tirelli);

-  Macroeconomics III – (Instructor: Dr.ssa Albonico);

-  Macroeconomics II –  (Instructor: Prof. Ropele);

-  Macroeconomics IV – (Instructor: Dr.ssa Barbaro)

- Research Methods – (Instructor: Prof. Colussi)

- Finance I – Empirical Corporate Finance (Instructor: Prof. Signori)

- Finance II – Asset Pricing Theory (Instructor: Prof. Sbuelz)

- Finance III – Banking (Instructor: Prof. Cerasi)

The courses/modules offered during the III term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Statistical Inference II (Instructor: Prof. Solari)

- Statistical Inference III (Instructor: Prof. Dolera)

- Bayesian Statistics I (Instructor: Prof. Ntzoufras)

- Bayesian Statistics II (Instructor: Prof. Argiento)

- R for Data Science – (Instructor: Prof. Melloncelli)

- Data Management (Instructor: Prof. Maurino)

Some of the courses are offered jointly with the PhD program in Economics and Finance of the Catholic University of Milan (UCSC). For this reason, some lectures will be held at the premises of UCSC, as clearly indicated in the timetable.

IV Term

The IV term teaching activities start beginning of September 2020.  The IV term exam session will be fixed in due course. 

The timetable of the IV term courses for the curriculum STAT is available here. 

The courses/modules offered during the IV term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Statistical Modelling (Instructors: Prof.ssa F. Greselin, Prof. Verzillo, Prof.ssa F. Pennoni, F. Bartolucci) 

- Statistical Learning I & II (Instructor: Prof. Rajen Shah)

- Statistical Learning III (Instructor: Prof. Aldo Solari)

I Term

The I term teaching activities start on 26 October 2020 and end on 23 December 2020.  The I term exam session starts on 7 January 2021 and ends on 13 January 2021. 

The timetable of the I term courses is available here.

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculm ECO are:

- Computational Statistics I (Instructor: Prof. Bertarelli)

- Mathematics – Linear algebra (Instructor: Prof. Pecora);

- Mathematics I (Instructor: Prof. Pireddu);

- Mathematics II (Instructor: Prof. Cavalli);

- Mathematics III (Instructor: Prof. Longo)

The courses/modules offered during the I term for the curriculum STAT are:

- Mathematical Analysis (modules I, II and III; Instructors: Proff. Zanco, De Bernardi, Miglierina)

- Numerical Optimization (Instructor: Prof. Dassi)