Summer School on Socioeconomic Opportunity and Inequality at the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy

Admit-only training for advanced Ph.D. students and early career faculty led by a roster of multidisciplinary leading scholars.
One-Time Event | Training
Location Bocconi University, Piazza Sraffa, 11, 20136, Milan
Organizers Steven Durlauf, Guido Alfani
Featured Speakers Steven Durlauf, Ariel Kalil, Guido Alfani, Paola Profeta, Antonio Villafranca, Zach Parolin, Béatrice Cherrier
Research Areas Income, Methodology, Mobility

The Summer School on Socioeconomic Opportunity and Inequality seeks to provide the next generation of scholars with the multidisciplinary underpinning necessary for effective research on inequality dynamics. It will feature leading scholars tackling inequality research from the lens of economics, sociology, and public policy, to foster cross-disciplinary approaches to inequality research and public policy evaluation regarding long-term inequality issues. It will also train advanced M.A. and Ph.D. students, policy professionals, and early-career faculty through immersive lectures on state-of-the-art methods for inequality research, one-on-one and small-group meetings with senior researchers, and presentation opportunities for summer school students where they can receive input on their early-stage research from the research community. The summer schools are designed to yield long-term benefits in creating lasting intellectual links that can be pursued long after the conclusion of the meetings. Organized in partnership between the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality, the Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, and Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

Applications Open in Spring 2026.

 

Summer School Schedule

Wednesday, July 1

Start Time
End Time
Session
Session Leaders
    Session I  
8:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Welcome Presentation: Inequality and Geopolitics Antonio Villafranca
9:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Child Skill Development Ariel Kalil
12:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. Lunch/Office Hours  
    Session II  
1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Student Presentations  
2:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Break  
    Session III  
2:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Intergenerational Persistence of Poverty Zach Parolin
5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Office Hours  

Thursday, July 2

Start Time
End Time
Session
Session Leaders
    Session I  
8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. The History of Economic Inequality Guido Alfani
11:00 a.m. 11:45 a.m. Student Presentations  
11:45 a.m. 12:45 p.m. Lunch/Office Hours  
    Session II  
12:45 p.m. 3:15 p.m. The History of Inequality in Economics Béatrice Cherrier
3:15 p.m. 4:15 p.m. Office Hours  

Friday, July 3

Start Time
End Time
Session
Session Leaders
    Session I  
8:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Gender Inequality Paola Profeta
11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Student Presentations  
12:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. Lunch/Office Hours  
    Session II  
1:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. Meritocracy Steven Durlauf
3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Office Hours   

This program is jointly supported by the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Bocconi University’s Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, in collaboration with the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale.