Research

Our research environment combines profound knowledge of the principles governing modern economics and rigorous statistical and econometric tools. These attributes help the Institute be established as a center of excellence in applied economics and econometrics, in domains ranging from international trade to labor markets and migration, to development and environmental issues, to banking and finance, to panel data and time series models, and so on.

The Institute’s research is not only limited to publications in top scientific journals, but also consists in collaborative work with many of the international organizations located in Geneva and elsewhere, such as the World Trade Organization, UNCTAD, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations Development Program, the International Trade Center, the World Bank, CIMMYT, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Weekly seminars, conferences, joint research projects, and internships allow the Institute to have a significant positive impact outside the scientific community.

Our researchers are also committed to helping the cause of a better world with many of them advising international organizations, national and local governments in both developing and developed countries on topics that range from inequality, poverty, unemployment, and human development to socio-economic impacts of desertification, export promotion, diversification, and globalization, as well as on modeling issues.

Research video series

		Are tests a good way of measuring ability? In this video, Professor Caterina Calsamiglia presents her research aiming at answering the following question: to what extent does one exam predict how well you will do at college? 20 October 2021
		Trade Policies, Labor Concerns, and the Protectionist Backlash In this video, Professors Céline Carrère, Monika Mrázová and Frédéric Robert-Nicoud present their research on how the current rise in protectionism impacts trade and labor. 19 October 2021
		Distance Learning in Higher Education. Evidence from a Randomized Experiment In this video, Professors Jérémy Lucchetti and Michele Pellizzari present their research on the effects of distance learning in higher education. It shows that the overall impact of online learning is to deepen inequalities between more and less able students. 23 June 2021
		Sovereign debt sustainability in advanced economies In this video, Professor Jean-Charles Rochet presents his research on sovereign debt aimed at answering the following question: what is the maximum debt-to-GDP ratio that is sustainable by a government? 10 June 2021

RECENT publications

De Giorgi, G., & Naguib, C. Life After (Soft) Default. 2024. European Economic Review, 167, Article 104793.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104793

Katovich, E. S. 2024. Winning and Losing the Resource Lottery: Governance After Uncertain Oil Discoveries. Journal of Development Economics, 166, Article 103204.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103204

Laurent-Lucchetti, J., Rohner, D., & Thoenig, M. 2024. Ethnic Conflict and the Informational Dividend of Democracy. Journal of the European Economic Association, 22(1), 73–116.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvad031

Beltramo, T. P., Calvi, R., De Giorgi, G., & Sarr, I. 2023. Child poverty among refugees. World Development, 171, Article 106340.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106340

Bulte, E., Di Falco, S., Kassie, M., & Vollenweider, X. 2023. Low-quality seeds, labor supply and economic returns: Experimental evidence from Tanzania. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1(33).
https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01285

De Giorgi, G., Drenik, A., & Seira, E. 2023. The extension of credit with non-exclusive contracts and sequential banking externalities. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 15(1), 233–271.
https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20200220

Kramlinger, P., Krivobokova, T., & Sperlich, S. 2023. Marginal and Conditional Multiple Inference for Linear Mixed Model Predictors. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 118(544), 2344–2355.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2022.2044826

Müller, T., Pannatier, P., & Viarengo, M. 2023. Labor market integration, local conditions and inequalities: Evidence from refugees in Switzerland. World Development, 170, Article 106288.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106288

Nigus, H. Y., Nillesen, E., Mohnen, P., & Di Falco, S. 2023. Markets and socially responsible behavior: Do punishment and religion matter? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 209, 572–593.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2023.03.023

Albanesi, S., De Giorgi, G., & Nosal, J. 2022. Credit growth and the financial crisis: A new narrative. Journal of Monetary Economics, 132, 118–139.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2022.09.001

Di Falco, S., & Vieider, F. M. 2022. Environmental Adaptation of Risk Preferences. The Economic Journal, 132(648), 2737–2766.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueac030

Fadinger, H., Ghiglino, C., & Teteryatnikova, M. 2022. Income Differences, Productivity, and Input-Output Networks. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 14(2), 367–415.
https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.20180342

Kadilli, A., & Krishnakumar, J. 2022. Smooth Transition Simultaneous Equation Models. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 145, Article 104546.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2022.104546

Kuosmanen, I., & Meriläinen, J. 2022. Labor Market Effects of Open Borders: Evidence from the Finnish Construction Sector after EU Enlargement. Journal of Human Resources.
https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0321-11546R2

Maggi, G., Mrázová, M., & Neary, J. P. 2022. Choked by red tape? The political economy of wasteful trade barriers. International Economic Review, 63(1), 161–188.
https://doi.org/10.1111/iere.12533

Mammen, E., & Sperlich, S. 2022. Backfitting tests in generalized structured models. Biometrika, 109(1), 137–152.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/asaa108

Peñaranda, F., Rodríguez-Poo, J. M., & Sperlich, S. 2022. Nonparametric specification testing of conditional asset pricing models. Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 40(4), 1455–1469.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07350015.2021.1933500

> For a complete list, please visit our Knowledge & Publications page.

RECENT PH.D. THESES

Ph.D. in Economics

Essays in International Trade (Silvy, F. 2025)

Essays in Migration and Labor Economics (Pannatier, P. 2024)

Essays in Development Economics (Maji, S. 2024)

Three Essays in Political and Labour Economics (Braccioli, F. 2023)

Essays in Labor Economics (Brandimarti, E. 2023)

The Economic Impact of Social Responsability (Cifarelli, F. 2023)

Three Essays in Development Economics (Jiang C., 2023)

Essays in Development Economics (Bahure, V. 2022)

Three Essays on Regional Trade and Growth (Nouar, M. 2022)

Three Essays on Development, Environmental, and Behavioural Economics (Doku, A. Y. 2021)

Essais on interstate conflict and international trade (Flores Gonzalez, M. 2021)

Three Essays on Resource Allocation in China (Ouyang, D. 2021)

Labor Market Policies in Informal Labor Markets (Pignatti, C. 2021)

Essays on environmental and urban economics (Mahajan, A. 2020)

Three essays on the Chinese economy (Yuan, W. 2020)

Three Essays on Trade Policy (Solleder, J.-M. 2020)

Essays in international trade (Wichmann, E. 2020)

> Click here for more information on the Ph.D. in Economics program.

Ph.D. in Econometrics

Contributions in the areas of three-dimensional panel data and the use of machine learning to estimate econometric models (Avila Márquez, M. 2022)

Smart Modelling and Large Data Sets (Cattani, G. 2022)

Contributions to the theory and practice of latent variable modelling and causal inference (Falciola, J. 2021)

Poverty, inequality, and networks: new approaches for operationalization (Vargas Yanez, I. 2021)

Essays on equality of opportunity (Essais sur l’égalité des chances) (Javadekar, S. S. 2020)

> Click here for more information on the Ph.D. in Econometrics program.