The Department of Economic and Social Sciences (DiSES) and the Italian Association for the Study of Comparative Economic Systems (AISSEC) are organizing a workshop on the topics of “Poverty and Inequality: Empirical Evidence, Policies, and Measurement Issues”, which will take place at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Cremona- on the 6th and 7th of October 2023.

Keynote speakers

Andrea Brandolini (Bank of Italy), Anne-Catherine Guio (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, LISER).

The last decades have been characterized by a widening interest in inequality and poverty issues by economists, policy makers and government authorities/institutions. This is justified by the increasing relevance of both phenomena not only in developing countries but also in the developed world. Income inequality, for instance, as suggested by the Gini Index, has generally increased since the 1990s. Similar patterns characterized the diffusion of poverty.

This evolution was primarily due to institutional and technological changes, and globalization, that characterized the decades at the turn of the 21st century and contributed to exacerbating inequalities, especially in the labor markets.

Despite the launch of initiatives to contrast such phenomena (for instance the Europe 2020 Strategy for Smart, Sustainable, and Inclusive Growth and the more recent United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development), the goals of reducing poverty (and inequality) substantially failed. This was also in light of the consequences of the Great Recession, such as the increase in unemployment, financial distress, and the application of austerity measures. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian conflict contributed to worsening inequalities and poverty.

In this context, understanding the forces that have driven the evolution of poverty and inequality outcomes, as well as their consequences, is important for developing guidelines to design future policy actions. Investigating the dynamic aspects of the phenomena, including persistence and mobility, is crucial to single out mechanisms at work, identifying their duration, and insights into long-term consequences.

Dynamic analysis may also help to detect how low income may determine the onset of disadvantaged conditions, such as poor health/disability and poor labor market outcomes, which, in turn, are usually associated with poverty, thus highlighting the existence of a vicious circle that persistently marginalize individuals.

We encourage contributions about new methodological approaches and applied research from economics, statistics, and other quantitative disciplines, aimed at a better understanding of the phenomena of poverty and inequality.

The keywords of the expected contributions include the analysis of the dynamics (i.e. persistence and mobility) of the phenomena, their causes, and consequences, such as the dynamic relationship between poverty and – demographic issues, labor market, health-related issues, and others. Papers dealing with measurement and methodological issues associated with the indicators for poverty, income and consumption inequality, wealth, multidimensional deprivation, and subjective poverty are also welcome.

We encourage the submission of contributions using comparative approaches pinpointing differences between and within countries (territorial disparities, population subgroups heterogeneity) which, among others, highlight the role of institutions and policies to reduce income inequality and mitigate poverty and social exclusion.

Abstract submission

Authors are invited to submit an extended abstract (min 500 words) to aissec.org@gmail.com

Important dates

• 15th July 2023 - Deadline for extended abstract submission
• 31st July 2023 - Acceptance notification
• 15th September 2023 - Submission of full paper and registration
• 6th-7th October 2023 - Workshop at Università Cattolica, Cremona.

Publication opportunity

A selection of papers will be considered for publication in a Special Issue of the Italian Economic Journal (ItEJ), Guest Editors: Chiara Mussida, Dario Sciulli.

Scientific Committee

Enrico Bellino (UCSC, Piacenza); Enrico Fabrizi (UCSC, Piacenza); Chiara Mussida (UCSC, Piacenza); Antonella Rocca (UniParthenope, Napoli); Dario Sciulli (UdA, Pescara); Alina Verashchagina (UdA, Pescara).

Organizing Committee

Gabriel Brondino (UCSC, Piacenza); Gianni Carvelli (UCSC, Piacenza); Enrico Fabrizi (UCSC, Piacenza); Chiara Mussida (UCSC, Piacenza); Dario Sciulli (UdA, Pescara).

Location of the conference

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, via Stefano Leonida Bissolati, 74, Cremona.