Project acronym AROMA-CFD
Project Advanced Reduced Order Methods with Applications in Computational Fluid Dynamics
Researcher (PI) Gianluigi Rozza
Host Institution (HI) SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI DI TRIESTE
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The aim of AROMA-CFD is to create a team of scientists at SISSA for the development of Advanced Reduced Order Modelling techniques with a focus in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in order to face and overcome many current limitations of the state of the art and improve the capabilities of reduced order methodologies for more demanding applications in industrial, medical and applied sciences contexts. AROMA-CFD deals with strong methodological developments in numerical analysis, with a special emphasis on mathematical modelling and extensive exploitation of computational science and engineering. Several tasks have been identified to tackle important problems and open questions in reduced order modelling: study of bifurcations and instabilities in flows, increasing Reynolds number and guaranteeing stability, moving towards turbulent flows, considering complex geometrical parametrizations of shapes as computational domains into extended networks. A reduced computational and geometrical framework will be developed for nonlinear inverse problems, focusing on optimal flow control, shape optimization and uncertainty quantification. Further, all the advanced developments in reduced order modelling for CFD will be delivered for applications in multiphysics, such as fluid-structure interaction problems and general coupled phenomena involving inviscid, viscous and thermal flows, solids and porous media. The advanced developed framework within AROMA-CFD will provide attractive capabilities for several industrial and medical applications (e.g. aeronautical, mechanical, naval, off-shore, wind, sport, biomedical engineering, and cardiovascular surgery as well), combining high performance computing (in dedicated supercomputing centers) and advanced reduced order modelling (in common devices) to guarantee real time computing and visualization. A new open source software library for AROMA-CFD will be created: ITHACA, In real Time Highly Advanced Computational Applications.
Summary
The aim of AROMA-CFD is to create a team of scientists at SISSA for the development of Advanced Reduced Order Modelling techniques with a focus in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in order to face and overcome many current limitations of the state of the art and improve the capabilities of reduced order methodologies for more demanding applications in industrial, medical and applied sciences contexts. AROMA-CFD deals with strong methodological developments in numerical analysis, with a special emphasis on mathematical modelling and extensive exploitation of computational science and engineering. Several tasks have been identified to tackle important problems and open questions in reduced order modelling: study of bifurcations and instabilities in flows, increasing Reynolds number and guaranteeing stability, moving towards turbulent flows, considering complex geometrical parametrizations of shapes as computational domains into extended networks. A reduced computational and geometrical framework will be developed for nonlinear inverse problems, focusing on optimal flow control, shape optimization and uncertainty quantification. Further, all the advanced developments in reduced order modelling for CFD will be delivered for applications in multiphysics, such as fluid-structure interaction problems and general coupled phenomena involving inviscid, viscous and thermal flows, solids and porous media. The advanced developed framework within AROMA-CFD will provide attractive capabilities for several industrial and medical applications (e.g. aeronautical, mechanical, naval, off-shore, wind, sport, biomedical engineering, and cardiovascular surgery as well), combining high performance computing (in dedicated supercomputing centers) and advanced reduced order modelling (in common devices) to guarantee real time computing and visualization. A new open source software library for AROMA-CFD will be created: ITHACA, In real Time Highly Advanced Computational Applications.
Max ERC Funding
1 656 579 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2021-04-30
Project acronym ASNODEV
Project Aspirations Social Norms and Development
Researcher (PI) Eliana LA FERRARA
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Development economists and policymakers often face scenarios in which poor people do not make choices that would help them get out of poverty due to an “aspiration failure”: the poor perceive certain goals as unattainable and do not invest towards those goals, thus perpetuating their own state of poverty. The aim of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the relationship between aspirations and socio-economic outcomes of disadvantaged individuals, in order to answer the question: Can we design policy interventions that shift aspirations in a way that is conducive to development?
In addressing the above question a fundamental role is played by social norms and by the ability of individuals to coordinate on “new” aspirations, hence the analysis of social effects is a salient feature of this proposal.
The proposed research is organized in two workpackages. The first focuses on the media as a vehicle for changing aspirations, examining both commercial TV programs and “educational entertainment”. The second workpackage examines “tailored” interventions designed to address specific determinants of aspiration failures (e.g., psychological support to reduce perceived barriers; inter-racial interaction to change stereotypes; institutional reform to strengthen women’s rights and reduce the gender aspiration gap).
The methodology will involve rigorous evaluation of several interventions directly designed to or indirectly affecting aspirations and social norms. Original data collected through survey work, large administrative datasets and media content analysis will be used.
The results of this project will advance our knowledge on the sources of aspiration failures by poor people and on the interplay between aspirations and social norms, eventually opening the avenue for a new array of anti-poverty policies.
Summary
Development economists and policymakers often face scenarios in which poor people do not make choices that would help them get out of poverty due to an “aspiration failure”: the poor perceive certain goals as unattainable and do not invest towards those goals, thus perpetuating their own state of poverty. The aim of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the relationship between aspirations and socio-economic outcomes of disadvantaged individuals, in order to answer the question: Can we design policy interventions that shift aspirations in a way that is conducive to development?
In addressing the above question a fundamental role is played by social norms and by the ability of individuals to coordinate on “new” aspirations, hence the analysis of social effects is a salient feature of this proposal.
The proposed research is organized in two workpackages. The first focuses on the media as a vehicle for changing aspirations, examining both commercial TV programs and “educational entertainment”. The second workpackage examines “tailored” interventions designed to address specific determinants of aspiration failures (e.g., psychological support to reduce perceived barriers; inter-racial interaction to change stereotypes; institutional reform to strengthen women’s rights and reduce the gender aspiration gap).
The methodology will involve rigorous evaluation of several interventions directly designed to or indirectly affecting aspirations and social norms. Original data collected through survey work, large administrative datasets and media content analysis will be used.
The results of this project will advance our knowledge on the sources of aspiration failures by poor people and on the interplay between aspirations and social norms, eventually opening the avenue for a new array of anti-poverty policies.
Max ERC Funding
1 618 125 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-11-01, End date: 2021-10-31
Project acronym CAVE
Project Challenges and Advancements in Virtual Elements
Researcher (PI) Lourenco Beirao da veiga
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO-BICOCCA
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE1, ERC-2015-CoG
Summary The Virtual Element Method (VEM) is a novel technology for the discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs), that shares the same variational background as the Finite Element Method. First but not only, the VEM responds to the strongly increasing interest in using general polyhedral and polygonal meshes in the approximation of PDEs without the limit of using tetrahedral or hexahedral grids. By avoiding the explicit integration of the shape functions that span the discrete space and introducing an innovative construction of the stiffness matrixes, the VEM acquires very interesting properties and advantages with respect to more standard Galerkin methods, yet still keeping the same coding complexity. For instance, the VEM easily allows for polygonal/polyhedral meshes (even non-conforming) with non-convex elements and possibly with curved faces; it allows for discrete spaces of arbitrary C^k regularity on unstructured meshes.
The main scope of the project is to address the recent theoretical challenges posed by VEM and to assess whether this promising technology can achieve a breakthrough in applications. First, the theoretical and computational foundations of VEM will be made stronger. A deeper theoretical insight, supported by a wider numerical experience on benchmark problems, will be developed to gain a better understanding of the method's potentials and set the foundations for more applicative purposes. Second, we will focus our attention on two tough and up-to-date problems of practical interest: large deformation elasticity (where VEM can yield a dramatically more efficient handling of material inclusions, meshing of the domain and grid adaptivity, plus a much stronger robustness with respect to large grid distortions) and the cardiac bidomain model (where VEM can lead to a more accurate domain approximation through MRI data, a flexible refinement/de-refinement procedure along the propagation front, to an exact satisfaction of conservation laws).
Summary
The Virtual Element Method (VEM) is a novel technology for the discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs), that shares the same variational background as the Finite Element Method. First but not only, the VEM responds to the strongly increasing interest in using general polyhedral and polygonal meshes in the approximation of PDEs without the limit of using tetrahedral or hexahedral grids. By avoiding the explicit integration of the shape functions that span the discrete space and introducing an innovative construction of the stiffness matrixes, the VEM acquires very interesting properties and advantages with respect to more standard Galerkin methods, yet still keeping the same coding complexity. For instance, the VEM easily allows for polygonal/polyhedral meshes (even non-conforming) with non-convex elements and possibly with curved faces; it allows for discrete spaces of arbitrary C^k regularity on unstructured meshes.
The main scope of the project is to address the recent theoretical challenges posed by VEM and to assess whether this promising technology can achieve a breakthrough in applications. First, the theoretical and computational foundations of VEM will be made stronger. A deeper theoretical insight, supported by a wider numerical experience on benchmark problems, will be developed to gain a better understanding of the method's potentials and set the foundations for more applicative purposes. Second, we will focus our attention on two tough and up-to-date problems of practical interest: large deformation elasticity (where VEM can yield a dramatically more efficient handling of material inclusions, meshing of the domain and grid adaptivity, plus a much stronger robustness with respect to large grid distortions) and the cardiac bidomain model (where VEM can lead to a more accurate domain approximation through MRI data, a flexible refinement/de-refinement procedure along the propagation front, to an exact satisfaction of conservation laws).
Max ERC Funding
980 634 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-07-01, End date: 2021-06-30
Project acronym CellKarma
Project Dissecting the regulatory logic of cell fate reprogramming through integrative and single cell genomics
Researcher (PI) Davide CACCHIARELLI
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE TELETHON
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), LS2, ERC-2017-STG
Summary The concept that any cell type, upon delivery of the right “cocktail” of transcription factors, can acquire an identity that otherwise it would never achieve, revolutionized the way we approach the study of developmental biology. In light of this, the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) and cell fate conversion approaches stimulated new research directions into human regenerative biology. However, the chance to successfully develop patient-tailored therapies is still very limited because reprogramming technologies are applied without a comprehensive understanding of the molecular processes involved.
Here, I propose a multifaceted approach that combines a wide range of cutting-edge integrative genomic strategies to significantly advance our understanding of the regulatory logic driving cell fate decisions during human reprogramming to pluripotency.
To this end, I will utilize single cell transcriptomics to isolate reprogramming intermediates, reconstruct their lineage relationships and define transcriptional regulators responsible for the observed transitions (AIM 1). Then, I will dissect the rules by which transcription factors modulate the activity of promoters and enhancer regions during reprogramming transitions, by applying synthetic biology and genome editing approaches (AIM 2). Then, I will adopt an alternative approach to identify reprogramming modulators by the analysis of reprogramming-induced mutagenesis events (AIM 3). Finally, I will explore my findings in multiple primary reprogramming approaches to pluripotency, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of IPSC derivation (Aim 4).
In summary, this project will expose novel determinants and yet unidentified molecular barriers of reprogramming to pluripotency and will be essential to unlock the full potential of reprogramming technologies for shaping cellular identity in vitro and to address pressing challenges of regenerative medicine.
Summary
The concept that any cell type, upon delivery of the right “cocktail” of transcription factors, can acquire an identity that otherwise it would never achieve, revolutionized the way we approach the study of developmental biology. In light of this, the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) and cell fate conversion approaches stimulated new research directions into human regenerative biology. However, the chance to successfully develop patient-tailored therapies is still very limited because reprogramming technologies are applied without a comprehensive understanding of the molecular processes involved.
Here, I propose a multifaceted approach that combines a wide range of cutting-edge integrative genomic strategies to significantly advance our understanding of the regulatory logic driving cell fate decisions during human reprogramming to pluripotency.
To this end, I will utilize single cell transcriptomics to isolate reprogramming intermediates, reconstruct their lineage relationships and define transcriptional regulators responsible for the observed transitions (AIM 1). Then, I will dissect the rules by which transcription factors modulate the activity of promoters and enhancer regions during reprogramming transitions, by applying synthetic biology and genome editing approaches (AIM 2). Then, I will adopt an alternative approach to identify reprogramming modulators by the analysis of reprogramming-induced mutagenesis events (AIM 3). Finally, I will explore my findings in multiple primary reprogramming approaches to pluripotency, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of IPSC derivation (Aim 4).
In summary, this project will expose novel determinants and yet unidentified molecular barriers of reprogramming to pluripotency and will be essential to unlock the full potential of reprogramming technologies for shaping cellular identity in vitro and to address pressing challenges of regenerative medicine.
Max ERC Funding
1 497 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-03-01, End date: 2023-02-28
Project acronym ESEARCH
Project Direct Empirical Evidence on Labor Market Search Theories
Researcher (PI) Thomas LE BARBANCHON
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Our project proposes to provide new empirical evidence on the search strategies of both job seekers and of recruiters in the labor market. This evidence will enhance our understanding of the information asymmetries at the root of search frictions.
We will leverage the extraordinary opportunities offered by online job boards, which record search activities in details. We will match for the first time these data with administrative data from unemployment-employment registers. This will enable us to jointly observe search activity and core economic outcomes (wage, job duration) on very large samples.
We will design randomized controlled trials, where we recommend new matches to both job seekers and recruiters. This will test for the extent of geographical and skill mismatch in the labor market. We will further test the assumptions of directed search models by displaying to job seekers the real-time length of the queue in front of vacancies. Finally, we will use new item-to-item collaborative filtering algorithms (amazon-type recommendations) to quantify the social value of the private information that job seekers gather when they screen vacancies.
Using quasi-experimental research designs, we will provide the first precise estimates of the direct and cross effects of search subsidies - unemployment insurance and reduction in vacancy advertising costs - on the search strategies of both sides of the market. We will then test the empirical relevance of behavioral mechanisms, such as reference-dependence or over-optimism.
We expect our direct empirical evidence on search strategies to trigger new developments in search theories. Our results will guide policy-makers who design job boards and search subsidies to both recruiters and job seekers. We hope that the social impact of our research will be to reduce frictional unemployment and to increase the productivity of workers through a reduction of mismatch in the labor market.
Summary
Our project proposes to provide new empirical evidence on the search strategies of both job seekers and of recruiters in the labor market. This evidence will enhance our understanding of the information asymmetries at the root of search frictions.
We will leverage the extraordinary opportunities offered by online job boards, which record search activities in details. We will match for the first time these data with administrative data from unemployment-employment registers. This will enable us to jointly observe search activity and core economic outcomes (wage, job duration) on very large samples.
We will design randomized controlled trials, where we recommend new matches to both job seekers and recruiters. This will test for the extent of geographical and skill mismatch in the labor market. We will further test the assumptions of directed search models by displaying to job seekers the real-time length of the queue in front of vacancies. Finally, we will use new item-to-item collaborative filtering algorithms (amazon-type recommendations) to quantify the social value of the private information that job seekers gather when they screen vacancies.
Using quasi-experimental research designs, we will provide the first precise estimates of the direct and cross effects of search subsidies - unemployment insurance and reduction in vacancy advertising costs - on the search strategies of both sides of the market. We will then test the empirical relevance of behavioral mechanisms, such as reference-dependence or over-optimism.
We expect our direct empirical evidence on search strategies to trigger new developments in search theories. Our results will guide policy-makers who design job boards and search subsidies to both recruiters and job seekers. We hope that the social impact of our research will be to reduce frictional unemployment and to increase the productivity of workers through a reduction of mismatch in the labor market.
Max ERC Funding
1 250 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-04-01, End date: 2023-03-31
Project acronym HiCoS
Project Higher Co-dimension Singularities: Minimal Surfaces and the Thin Obstacle Problem
Researcher (PI) Emanuele SPADARO
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE1, ERC-2017-STG
Summary Singular solutions to variational problems and to partial differential equations are naturally ubiquitous in many contexts, and among these minimal surfaces theory and free boundary problems are two prominent examples both for their analytical content and their physical interest.
A crucial aspect in this regard is the co-dimension of the objects under consideration: indeed, many of the analytical and geometric principles which are valid for minimal hypersurfaces or regular points of the free boundary do not apply to higher co-dimension surfaces or singular free boundary points.
The aim of this project is to investigate some of the most compelling questions about the singularities of two classical problems in the geometric calculus of variations in higher co-dimension:
I. Mass-minimizing integer rectifiable currents, i.e. solutions to the Plateau problem of finding the surfaces of least area, attacking specific conjectures about the structure of the singular set, most prominently the boundedness of its measure.
II. The thin obstacle problem, consisting in minimizing the Dirichlet energy (or a variant of it) among functions constrained above an obstacle that is assigned on a lower dimensional space, with the purpose of answering some of the main open questions on the singular free boundary points.
The main unifying theme of the project is the central role played by geometric measure theory, which underlines various common aspects of these two problems and makes them suited to be treated in an unified framework.
Although these are classical questions with a long tradition, our knowledge about them is still limited and their investigation is among the most challenging issues in regularity theory. This is the central focus of the project, with the final goal to develop suitable analytical techniques that provides valuable insights on the mathematics at the basis of higher co-dimension singularities, eventually fruitful in other geometric and analytical settings.
Summary
Singular solutions to variational problems and to partial differential equations are naturally ubiquitous in many contexts, and among these minimal surfaces theory and free boundary problems are two prominent examples both for their analytical content and their physical interest.
A crucial aspect in this regard is the co-dimension of the objects under consideration: indeed, many of the analytical and geometric principles which are valid for minimal hypersurfaces or regular points of the free boundary do not apply to higher co-dimension surfaces or singular free boundary points.
The aim of this project is to investigate some of the most compelling questions about the singularities of two classical problems in the geometric calculus of variations in higher co-dimension:
I. Mass-minimizing integer rectifiable currents, i.e. solutions to the Plateau problem of finding the surfaces of least area, attacking specific conjectures about the structure of the singular set, most prominently the boundedness of its measure.
II. The thin obstacle problem, consisting in minimizing the Dirichlet energy (or a variant of it) among functions constrained above an obstacle that is assigned on a lower dimensional space, with the purpose of answering some of the main open questions on the singular free boundary points.
The main unifying theme of the project is the central role played by geometric measure theory, which underlines various common aspects of these two problems and makes them suited to be treated in an unified framework.
Although these are classical questions with a long tradition, our knowledge about them is still limited and their investigation is among the most challenging issues in regularity theory. This is the central focus of the project, with the final goal to develop suitable analytical techniques that provides valuable insights on the mathematics at the basis of higher co-dimension singularities, eventually fruitful in other geometric and analytical settings.
Max ERC Funding
1 341 250 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-02-01, End date: 2023-01-31
Project acronym LYSOSOMICS
Project Functional Genomics of the Lysosome
Researcher (PI) Andrea BALLABIO
Host Institution (HI) FONDAZIONE TELETHON
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS2, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary For a long time the lysosome has been viewed as a “static” organelle that performs “routine” work for the cell, mostly pertaining to degradation and recycling of cellular waste. My group has challenged this view and used a systems biology approach to discover that the lysosome is subject to a global transcriptional regulation, is able to adapt to environmental clues, and acts as a signalling hub to regulate cell homeostasis. Furthermore, an emerging role of the lysosome has been identified in many types of diseases, including the common neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s. These findings have opened entirely new fields of investigation on lysosomal biology, suggesting that there is a lot to be learned on the role of the lysosome in health and disease. The goal of LYSOSOMICS is to use “omics” approaches to study lysosomal function and its regulation in normal and pathological conditions. In this “organellar systems biology project” we plan to perform several types of genetic perturbations in three widely used cell lines and study their effects on lysosomal function using a set of newly developed cellular phenotypic assays. Moreover, we plan to identify lysosomal protein-protein interactions using a novel High Content FRET-based approach. Finally, we will use the CRISPR-Cas9 technology to generate a collection of cellular models for all lysosomal storage diseases, a group of severe inherited diseases often associated with early onset neurodegeneration. State-of-the-art computational approaches will be used to predict gene function and identify disease mechanisms potentially exploitable for therapeutic purposes. The physiological relevance of newly identified pathways will be validated by in vivo studies performed on selected genes by using medaka and mice as model systems. This study will allow us to gain a comprehensive understanding of lysosomal function and dysfunction and to use this knowledge to develop new therapeutic strategies.
Summary
For a long time the lysosome has been viewed as a “static” organelle that performs “routine” work for the cell, mostly pertaining to degradation and recycling of cellular waste. My group has challenged this view and used a systems biology approach to discover that the lysosome is subject to a global transcriptional regulation, is able to adapt to environmental clues, and acts as a signalling hub to regulate cell homeostasis. Furthermore, an emerging role of the lysosome has been identified in many types of diseases, including the common neurodegenerative disorders Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s. These findings have opened entirely new fields of investigation on lysosomal biology, suggesting that there is a lot to be learned on the role of the lysosome in health and disease. The goal of LYSOSOMICS is to use “omics” approaches to study lysosomal function and its regulation in normal and pathological conditions. In this “organellar systems biology project” we plan to perform several types of genetic perturbations in three widely used cell lines and study their effects on lysosomal function using a set of newly developed cellular phenotypic assays. Moreover, we plan to identify lysosomal protein-protein interactions using a novel High Content FRET-based approach. Finally, we will use the CRISPR-Cas9 technology to generate a collection of cellular models for all lysosomal storage diseases, a group of severe inherited diseases often associated with early onset neurodegeneration. State-of-the-art computational approaches will be used to predict gene function and identify disease mechanisms potentially exploitable for therapeutic purposes. The physiological relevance of newly identified pathways will be validated by in vivo studies performed on selected genes by using medaka and mice as model systems. This study will allow us to gain a comprehensive understanding of lysosomal function and dysfunction and to use this knowledge to develop new therapeutic strategies.
Max ERC Funding
2 362 563 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-10-01, End date: 2021-09-30
Project acronym MACROPMF
Project Macroeconomic Dynamics with Product Market Frictions
Researcher (PI) Luigi Paciello
Host Institution (HI) Istituto Einaudi per l'Economia e la Finanza
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2015-STG
Summary The transmission of microeconomic and macroeconomic shocks to firms' price and demand in product markets is the cornerstone of a large volume of macroeconomic literature. Product market frictions, by reducing the ability of demand to relocate across different suppliers, affect firms' incentives when setting prices, and therefore the pass-through of shocks to both demand and prices.
In this project we plan to study the implications of product market frictions for firm level price and demand dynamics, as well as for macroeconomic dynamics. The aim is to integrate micro and macro economics, both theoretically and empirically, to a greater extent than is currently done in the literature.
We will apply our tools to two main areas of interest. First, we will study how product market frictions affect the optimal pricing decision of firms, and the relocation of consumers across different suppliers. We will provide novel empirical microeconomic evidence on the relationship between price and consumer dynamics. We will build a rich but yet tractable model where product market frictions give rise to firm pricing with customer markets. The aim is to use observable statistics from the micro data to estimate the key parameters of the model and quantify the relevance of the product market frictions for firm pricing and demand dynamics.
Second, we will explore the importance of product market frictions for macroeconomic dynamics. We will apply our quantified model of price and consumer dynamics to areas of macroeconomics where we expect our methodology and empirical analysis to be more relevant, both because of the types of questions addressed and because of a direct relationship with the mechanism. In particular we will focus on the role of product market frictions for business cycle fluctuations and international trade.
Summary
The transmission of microeconomic and macroeconomic shocks to firms' price and demand in product markets is the cornerstone of a large volume of macroeconomic literature. Product market frictions, by reducing the ability of demand to relocate across different suppliers, affect firms' incentives when setting prices, and therefore the pass-through of shocks to both demand and prices.
In this project we plan to study the implications of product market frictions for firm level price and demand dynamics, as well as for macroeconomic dynamics. The aim is to integrate micro and macro economics, both theoretically and empirically, to a greater extent than is currently done in the literature.
We will apply our tools to two main areas of interest. First, we will study how product market frictions affect the optimal pricing decision of firms, and the relocation of consumers across different suppliers. We will provide novel empirical microeconomic evidence on the relationship between price and consumer dynamics. We will build a rich but yet tractable model where product market frictions give rise to firm pricing with customer markets. The aim is to use observable statistics from the micro data to estimate the key parameters of the model and quantify the relevance of the product market frictions for firm pricing and demand dynamics.
Second, we will explore the importance of product market frictions for macroeconomic dynamics. We will apply our quantified model of price and consumer dynamics to areas of macroeconomics where we expect our methodology and empirical analysis to be more relevant, both because of the types of questions addressed and because of a direct relationship with the mechanism. In particular we will focus on the role of product market frictions for business cycle fluctuations and international trade.
Max ERC Funding
1 192 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-02-01, End date: 2020-01-31
Project acronym MIMAT
Project From Micro to Macro: Aggregate Implications of Firm-Level Heterogeneity in International Trade
Researcher (PI) Gianmarco OTTAVIANO
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary What determines the patterns of international trade and the associated welfare effects? Can individual
incentives to trade diverge from societal objectives? Should governments intervene to promote or restrict
international transactions? Questions like these have recently gained new salience, in Europe and elsewhere,
due to renewed protectionist pressures and resurgent nationalistic tendencies arising from diffuse
disenchantment with globalization.
The aim of the research project is to highlighting key dimensions along which the answers to these questions
obtained from conventional trade models with homogenous firms should be revisited in the light of
permanent pervasive firm heterogeneity. In particular, the project will pursue four specific objectives through
four integrated work packages providing new insights on how firm heterogeneity affects: (1) the ability of
markets to deliver allocative efficiency; (2) The design of optimal multilateral trade policies; (3) The
comparative advantages of countries; (4) The capabilities of a country as an exporter.
The first work package will investigate whether the allocative inefficiency (“misallocation”) determined by
firm heterogeneity in the presence of pricing distortions is quantitatively relevant for a country’s aggregate
economic performance, and whether economic integration reduces or exacerbates such misallocation. The
second work package will develop the theoretical implications of firm heterogeneity for trade policy, with
special emphasis on the cooperative design of optimal multilateral trade agreements aimed at maximizing the
joint welfare of all trade partners. The third work package will study how country, sector and firm
characteristics interact to determine countries’ responses to trade liberalization. The fourth work package
will investigate the distinct role of firm heterogeneity in determining a country’s ability to export through the
shape of the productivity distribution of its producers.
Summary
What determines the patterns of international trade and the associated welfare effects? Can individual
incentives to trade diverge from societal objectives? Should governments intervene to promote or restrict
international transactions? Questions like these have recently gained new salience, in Europe and elsewhere,
due to renewed protectionist pressures and resurgent nationalistic tendencies arising from diffuse
disenchantment with globalization.
The aim of the research project is to highlighting key dimensions along which the answers to these questions
obtained from conventional trade models with homogenous firms should be revisited in the light of
permanent pervasive firm heterogeneity. In particular, the project will pursue four specific objectives through
four integrated work packages providing new insights on how firm heterogeneity affects: (1) the ability of
markets to deliver allocative efficiency; (2) The design of optimal multilateral trade policies; (3) The
comparative advantages of countries; (4) The capabilities of a country as an exporter.
The first work package will investigate whether the allocative inefficiency (“misallocation”) determined by
firm heterogeneity in the presence of pricing distortions is quantitatively relevant for a country’s aggregate
economic performance, and whether economic integration reduces or exacerbates such misallocation. The
second work package will develop the theoretical implications of firm heterogeneity for trade policy, with
special emphasis on the cooperative design of optimal multilateral trade agreements aimed at maximizing the
joint welfare of all trade partners. The third work package will study how country, sector and firm
characteristics interact to determine countries’ responses to trade liberalization. The fourth work package
will investigate the distinct role of firm heterogeneity in determining a country’s ability to export through the
shape of the productivity distribution of its producers.
Max ERC Funding
1 335 694 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-10-01, End date: 2023-09-30
Project acronym PolEc
Project The Political Economy of Power Relations
Researcher (PI) Massimo MORELLI
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA COMMERCIALE LUIGI BOCCONI
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH1, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Political economists want to understand conflict, electoral competition, special interest politics, regimes and institutional choices, and in all these subfields the term power appears frequently: power of countries, power of ethnic groups, power of interest groups, power of parties, power of the bureaucracy.
Power is multidimensional and endogenous, and hence the standard theoretical and empirical analysis that takes a unified notion of power as an independent variable has led to wrong directions.
By acknowledging that power is multidimensional and endogenous, and thereby studying the endogenous interactions between the different types of power, we can further significantly the frontier of political economy.
In particular, I am going to show, theoretically and empirically, that all kinds of conflict, from civil war to interstate war and even class conflict, depend on the “mismatch” between the relative power of the key players on different dimensions, for example military and political power.
An important byproduct of the mismatch theory is for the interpretation of the history of conflict after 1950:
I claim that it is Bretton Woods that created the ground for a significant discontinuity, cutting down the incentives to interstate wars but increasing the incentives to start civil wars.
Finally, the general idea that the dynamics of one type of power can depend significantly on relative power in other spheres will be applied also to the relationship between political power and the power of bureaucracies.
The empirical part of the project will involve new measurements of power and will benefit from collection of data on political texts, policy platform texts, legal texts and economic strength of ethnic groups over time and cross-countries.
Summary
Political economists want to understand conflict, electoral competition, special interest politics, regimes and institutional choices, and in all these subfields the term power appears frequently: power of countries, power of ethnic groups, power of interest groups, power of parties, power of the bureaucracy.
Power is multidimensional and endogenous, and hence the standard theoretical and empirical analysis that takes a unified notion of power as an independent variable has led to wrong directions.
By acknowledging that power is multidimensional and endogenous, and thereby studying the endogenous interactions between the different types of power, we can further significantly the frontier of political economy.
In particular, I am going to show, theoretically and empirically, that all kinds of conflict, from civil war to interstate war and even class conflict, depend on the “mismatch” between the relative power of the key players on different dimensions, for example military and political power.
An important byproduct of the mismatch theory is for the interpretation of the history of conflict after 1950:
I claim that it is Bretton Woods that created the ground for a significant discontinuity, cutting down the incentives to interstate wars but increasing the incentives to start civil wars.
Finally, the general idea that the dynamics of one type of power can depend significantly on relative power in other spheres will be applied also to the relationship between political power and the power of bureaucracies.
The empirical part of the project will involve new measurements of power and will benefit from collection of data on political texts, policy platform texts, legal texts and economic strength of ethnic groups over time and cross-countries.
Max ERC Funding
1 540 625 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
