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Research Projects in Economic Development and Growth

The OSTIUM project aims to understand, through the study of the ancient city of Ostia, how, with what means and for what purpose humanity has transformed, over the centuries, the urban space in which it lives, to adapt it to the changing needs of its existence, the available resources and the historical contingencies. [...] 

The project is structured according to three main axes, each of which exploits the methods of the disciplines involved. [...] 

The second axis intends, through an economic approach, to build a new dataset describing the evolution of the structure, the organization and the demographic features of urban space in Ostia, which is an interesting example of pre-industrial socio-economic system whose transformation can be followed through several centuries. 

By using the existing information on the Ostian population (epigraphy, osteological remains, historic sources) progressively enriched by the data gathered by the first axis, we will explore the dynamic interplay between economic development, environmental constraints and relevant socio-economic outcomes such as urban growth, inequality in the access to urban space, social segregation, the evolution of urbanism and architectural forms and the formation of corporate groups. 

The data made available by the project will also allow to understand whether the economy of Roman Ostia obeyed Malthusian principles, and look into the main mechanisms governing the relationship between economic, demographic and urban transformation.

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Research Project in International Economics

The aim of the project is to study the impacts of forced displacement on labor markets in four countries: Colombia, Ethiopia, Jordan and Uganda. The case studies will generate quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence on three interconnected themes:

1) Assessing the impact of refugees on the labor markets; 
2) Understanding coping strategies adopted by the hosts in refugee-hosting areas; and
3) Shedding light on the importance of refugees’ socio-economic integration and the right to work in refugee-hosting economies.

The quantitative analysis will be based on both primary and secondary data. Based on the four case studies, the overarching objective of the project is to draw global policy recommendations and implications for dealing with new displacement in low- and middle-income countries.