Spatial and regional differences in economic activity and welfare became an urgent policy issue for many countries and, in particular, for European Union (EU) and United States (US). In the wake of COVID-19 emergency, worldwide economies are facing a major shock. The impact of the pandemic will vary from country to country, but also within countries and among agents (firms, households and workers) and it will most likely increase inequalities.
The LUISS University, together with the University of Pisa, recently won a national grant PRIN 2017 for the project “The Time-Space Evolution of Economic Activities: Mathematical Models and Empirical Applications” to study, using innovative mathematical and applied economic methods, the causes and the consequences of the observed time-space evolution of the economic activities. In particular, we aim to:
- develop a class of spatial general equilibrium models that will allow us to identify the individual contribution to spatial inequality and aggregate efficiency of technological spillovers, migration and net capital flows, spatial heterogeneity of initial endowments of factors and land, human capital, amenities;
- estimate/calibrate the proposed mathematical models to perform quantitative empirical analysis;
- provide probabilistic scenarios to evaluate the effects of alternative policies with specific local characteristics, which are actually on the top of agenda in US and EU as those adopted to contain the spread of COVID19 outbreak.