Workshop Programme

The Department of Economics and Law at Sapienza University of Rome and the Italian Association for the Study of Comparative Economic Systems (AISSEC) are organizing a workshop on the topics of ‘Poverty, Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility: Measurement Issues, Empirical Evidence and Policies’, which will take place at the Faculty of Economics of Sapienza University of Rome on the 5th and 6th September 2024.

Keynote speakers

Martin Nybom (Institute for Labor Market and Education Policy Evaluation, Uppsala, Sweden)

Zachary Parolin (Bocconi University, Milan, Italy)

Aims of the workshop

The last decades have been characterized by a widening interest in intergenerational mobility, inequality and poverty issues by economists, policymakers and government authorities/institutions. This is justified by the increasing relevance of these 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. In addition, intergenerational inequality remains a challenge in Europe, despite the efforts to increase individuals’ educational attainments. Education might play a role against poverty and social exclusion. However, inequalities in educational achievements due to different socio-economic backgrounds determine persistence in disadvantaged conditions and prevent socio-economic mobility. Many determinants have been proposed in the literature to explain these trends, even if a univocal and shared explanation has not been found.

Despite the launch of initiatives to contrast such phenomena by international institutions, the goals of reducing poverty (and inequality) and raise intergenerational mobility substantially failed. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian conflict contributed to worsening inequalities and poverty, also because of the inflation surge.

In this context, understanding the forces that have driven the evolution of intergenerational mobility, 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 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 and inequality, thus also highlighting the existence of a vicious circle that persistently marginalize individuals.

We thus 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, inequality and intergenerational mobility.

The keywords of the expected contributions include the analysis of the dynamics of the phenomena, their causes and consequences, such as the relationship between the three phenomena under investigation and a set of factors as, e.g., education and labor market outcomes, demographic and health-related issues. Papers dealing with measurement and methodological issues associated with the indicators of poverty, inequality, income and intergenerational mobility, multidimensional deprivation, and subjective poverty are also welcome. Likewise, contributions dealing with differences between and within countries (territorial disparities, population subgroup heterogeneity) which, among others, highlight the role of institutions and policies to reduce income and education inequality and mitigate poverty and social exclusion are welcome.

Abstract submission

Authors are invited to submit an extended abstract (min 500 words) to massimo.aprea@uniroma1.it.

There is no fee to participate to the conference. Travel and accommodation costs are borne by the participants.

Important dates

• 15th June 2024 - Deadline for extended abstract submission
• 8th July 2024 - Acceptance notification
• 31th July 2024 - Registration
• 5th-6th September 2024 - Workshop at Sapienza University of Rome

Publication opportunity

A selection of papers will be considered for publication in a Special Issue of a prestigious international journal. Guest Editors: Enrico Fabrizi, Chiara Mussida, Giuseppe Pignataro. Submission deadline: 31 March 2025. Additional information will be given in due course.

Organizing Committee

Massimo Aprea (Sapienza University of Rome); Enrico Fabrizi (UCSC, Piacenza); Giovanni Gallo (UNIMORE, Modena); Marina Murat (UNIMORE, Modena); Chiara Mussida (UCSC, Piacenza); Flaviana Palmisano (Sapienza University of Rome); Giuseppe Pignataro (University of Bologna); Michele Raitano (Sapienza University of Rome); Dario Sciulli (UdA, Pescara).

Location of the conference

Faculty of Economics of Sapienza University of Rome, Via del Castro Laurenziano 9, 00161 Roma.