European Research and Innovation Policies

The course aims at analysing the socioeconomic impact of scientific and technological research with a focus on innovation in public services. The context of such analysis is particularly Europe, considering both EU research and innovation policies, and the experience of supernational bodies such as CERN and European Space Agency. The analytical framework is applied welfare economics with a focus on research infrastructures. After a recall of principles of cost-benefit analysis and of the reasons why CBA has been applied to capital-intensive infrastructures (such as in energy and telecommunications), we shall apply CBA to research infrastructures. We shall study the (potential or actual) impact of science on socio-economic welfare and particularly on the delivery of new forms of knowledge-intensive public services, such as for example Earth Observation with satellite, with a discussion of the impact on social inequality.

Students will acquire: a) an understanding of design and implementation problems of research and innovation policies particularly with a focus on the strategical role of research infrastructures; b) the ability to examine the potential impact of such policies on public services; c) skills in cost-benefit analysis as applicable in new fields