Development Microeconomics, 9 ECTS, Instructor: Alessandro Cigno

This is an intermediate-to advanced microeconomic theory course with a development focus. Given the substantial analytical content, this course presupposes a good grounding in intermediate microeconomics and familiarity with the standard tools of economic theory (analytical geometry, infinitesimal calculus and constrained optimization). Parts of the following textbooks are used in the course:

• Varian, H. R., Intermediate Microeconomics, 9th ed., W. W. Norton & Co., 2014
• Bardhan, P. and C. Udry, Development Microeconomics, Oxford University Press, 2001
• Cigno, A. and F. C. Rosati, The Economics of Child Labour: Education, Fertility and Infant Mortality in Developing Countries, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2024

Before joining the course, all students are strongly advised to go through chapters 1-6, 8-9, 14-16 and 19-23, and the Mathematical Appendix, of Varian (2014) to make sure that they are familiar with the fundamental concepts and methods of intermediate microeconomics. Students who cannot join the course from the start because of visa or other problems should study also the remaining chapters of this book before coming to Florence.

Here is the website for this course, which includes reading indications for each topic of the course, some reading material, and a few mock exams. Students can access to the website as guests (“ospiti” in Italian), even though they are not yet enrolled in the MSc Economics and Development, using the password for guests -- please contact professor Cigno (alessandro.cigno@unifi.it) to receive the password for guests.

 

Statistical Inference, 9 ECTS, Instructor: Alberto Cassese

This course introduces the cornerstones of inferential statistics: the concept of statistical model, the tools of point estimation, interval estimation, statistical hypothesis testing, linear regression.

Here is the website for this course, to which students can access as guests (“ospiti” in Italian), even though they are not yet enrolled in the MSc Economics and Development, using the password for guests -- please contact professor Cassese (alberto.cassese@unifi.it) to receive the password for guests.

The material available in the website includes

• Notes on mandatory pre-knowledge, along with all course-related content.

• Tutorial materials, including links to video recordings.

• Statistical tables necessary for solving exercises.

• Examples of past written exams.

⚠ Important: Understanding the theory explained in the notes is crucial to mastering the course topics and to prepare to take the exam. Focussing only on the past exams is not sufficient to be well prepared.

 

Health and Education Economics, 6 ECTS, Instructor: Lisa Grazzini

This course illustrates why both education and health are important determinants of human capital as key issues for individual well-being and economic development, and provides a critical approach to interpret economic phenomena referring to the educational and the health sector by using the theoretical tools provided by public economics.

Here is the website for this course, which includes material on preliminary concepts and the slides used during the lectures. Students can access to the website as guests (“ospiti” in Italian), even though they are not yet enrolled in the MSc Economics and Development, using the password for guests -- please contact professor Grazzini (lisa.grazzini@unifi.it) to receive the password for guests.

 

Human Development and International Cooperation, Instructor: Mario Biggeri

Here is the website for this course, which includes a large amount of teaching material. Students can access to the website as guests (“ospiti” in Italian), even though they are not yet enrolled in the MSc Economics and Development, using the password for guests -- please contact professor Biggeri (mario.biggeri@unifi.it) to receive the password for guests. The website includes slides and additional teaching material for each lecture of the course.

 

The webpage of the curriculum in Development Economics.