Ateneo - UPO

Seminars on current research topics in management, economics and finance.

There is no single reference textbook. Materials (research papers, slides, working papers) will be provided by each speaker for their respective seminar.

The course aims to expose students to current research topics in management, economics and finance through a series of seminars delivered by University faculty and by external speakers.
Specifically, the course intends to:

1) enable students to reconstruct, from a seminar presentation and its reference article, the research question, the data and the empirical strategy used;
2) enable students to assess, with reasoned arguments, the soundness of the identification strategy adopted and the limitations of the results obtained;
3) enable students to connect the findings of an empirical study to its implications for theory and policy, and to set out that analysis in writing.

Allocation of CFU by type of teaching activity:

- interactive teaching (DI), 9 seminars with in-class discussion: 15 hours;
- self-study (preparatory reading of the reference articles, preparation for the written test): 35 hours.

No traditional lecture-based teaching (DE) and no distance learning (TEL-DE / TEL-DI) are envisaged: the course is entirely based on seminar activity with discussion.

Basic knowledge of empirical methods used in economics and management (regression analysis, basic notions of causal inference).

Seminars given by faculty members and external speakers.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam consists of a single written test with open-ended questions, 90 minutes long, the same for attending and non-attending students. There are no midterm or selective tests. No reference material is allowed.

Structure of the exam (30 points total)

Three mandatory open-ended questions, each focusing on the article (or articles) presented in a different seminar of the series. The questions share the same structure and are worth 10 points each, broken down as follows:

Reconstruction of the research (3 points): research question, data used, main result.
Descriptors: knowledge and understanding; ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
Assessment of the empirical strategy (4 points): methodology adopted, statement of the identification assumption, discussion of at least one threat to internal validity and one to external validity.
Descriptor: making judgements.
Implications (2 points): connection between the results and their implications for theory and for economic or managerial policy.
Descriptors: making judgements; learning skills.
Quality of the written exposition (1 point): structure, argumentation, and command of technical language.
Descriptor: communication skills.

Criteria for determining the overall grade:

The final grade is the sum of the scores of the three questions, out of 30. There are no minimum thresholds for individual questions. Honors (lode) is awarded to students who achieve 30 points and, in at least one answer, independently and originally connect the evidence discussed to other seminars or to the reference literature.

Correlation between level achieved and grade range:

18–20: the student correctly reconstructs the research question, data, and main result, identifies the methodology used, and indicates at least one limitation of the study, with an orderly presentation but imprecise technical language.
21–23: correct and complete reconstruction; methodology identified accurately; discussion of limitations present but descriptive; implications only touched upon.
24–26: identification assumption stated correctly; well-argued discussion of threats to internal and external validity; implications for theory and policy clearly formulated.
27–29: independent critical assessment of the empirical strategy, with a proposal for robustness checks or alternative data; precise and conditional implications; fully mastered exposition.
30 and 30 cum laude: ability to relate different seminars, identifying convergences or tensions between their respective evidence.

The course consists of 9 seminars on current research topics in management, economics and finance, given by faculty members and external speakers. Specific titles, speakers and the seminar schedule will be announced at the start of the course and made available on the course webpage.

Integration of the gender dimension

At least one of the seminars is devoted each year to empirical research on gender-related topics — for example pay and career gaps, occupational segregation, the effects of work–life balance policies, or female representation on corporate
boards. The discussion following the presentation explicitly addresses how the gender dimension enters the research question, the construction of the data and the policy implications. In composing the seminar series, attention is also paid to gender balance among the invited speakers.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- Critically engage with empirical research in management, economics and finance conducted using different methodologies.

- Evaluate the soundness of identification strategies used in empirical studies.

- Connect empirical research findings to their implications for theory and policy.

- Communicate in writing a critical analysis of the content presented in the seminars.