Summer School 2015

The I.S.E.O. Summer School of 2015 was held from the 20th till the 27th of June in the town of Iseo, Lombardy, Italy. This year the Summer School gathered together a number of 64 participants from 27 countries and 44 universities around the world.

The 12th edition of the Summer School was titled “The path to a Sustainable Global Economy: Growth Strategies, Fiscal Stimulus and Experimental Monetary Policies”. To enlighten the class of 2015 on the content of this topic, six internationally acknowledged speakers were invited to hold lectures during the week. The I.S.E.O. Summer School of 2015 had the privilege to host three Nobel Laureates: Robert Shiller (Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013), George Akerlof (Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2001) and Michael Spence (Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2001) who focused their lectures on their research topics in the field of economics. Going into specific, prof. Michael Spence concentrated his attention on “the new and continuing challenges to sustainable inclusive growth”, prof. Akerlof focused on his fascinating research” Phishing for Phools: the economics of deception and manipulation” whereas prof. Shiller got deep into the “irrational exuberance of financial markets”.

In addition, the program of this year’s I.S.E.O. Summer School allowed participants to get acquainted also with the fields of sociology and literature. This was accomplished via the inclusion of three more speakers: Zygmunt Bauman, an Emeritus Professor of Sociology from Leeds University who held a wonderful lecture on the divorce between power and politics, André Aciman, a Professor of Comparative Literature from the City University of New York, who shared his personal experience as a refugee talking about ” places of memory” and eventually Emanuele Ferragina, an assistant professor from Sciences Po University, who focused on “family policies at a time of austerity in rich OECD Countries”.

During the week, participants attended all the morning and afternoon lectures held by the speakers. However, three of the summer school participants also got the chance to present their own research to the rest of the groups and to the Nobel Laureates. This year these participants included Juergen Amann from Austria, Yanyan Yang from China and Mayank Gupta from India.

Nevertheless, the I.S.E.O. Summer School wasn’t only about studying. The participants got the chance to interact with each other and the speakers (including Nobel Laureates, who were always at disposal to discuss with students) during various free time activities, from shopping to canoeing. Participants were also offered the possibility of tasting traditional Italian dishes and local specialties in various restaurants around Iseo. One of the highlights of the I.S.E.O. Summer School was the traditional gala dinner, organized in the nearby Berlucchi vineyard. However, not all the days of the I.S.E.O. Summer School were spent merely in the Iseo area. The participants also got to participate on a couple of excursions, like a day trip to Venice, Brescia and the renowned Franciacorta vineyards.

To sum it up, the 12th edition of the I.S.E.O. Summer School was, just like its successors, a balance of academic moments and leisure, which we hope that offered long-lasting memories for all of our participants, both speakers and students.

If you want to gain more info on the I.S.E.O Summer School 2015, you can check the photo-gallery, the video-gallery and consult the materials presented by the speakers (available here below).