About CefES

Center for European Studies (CefES-DEMS)

The Center for European Studies (CefES-DEMS) promotes research on European countries and on Europe in a global context, following the highest standards in economic research and with an international vocation.

The Center gathers scholars from several different fields in Economics to contribute to the empirical and theoretical debate on Europe and the world.

Examples of questions the Center is addressing are:

  • How to reform the governance of the European Union to improve the interaction between national and supernational institutions?
  • How to monitor the degree of convergence across countries and regions within EU?
  • How to design macroeconomic policies in order to improve risk-sharing within EU countries (unemployment public fund or coordination of fiscal policies)?
  • How to monitor the sources of risks in financial markets and design common standards for the different actors in the financial system within EU?
  • Are the national industrial policies leading to greater market integration in the EU?
  • Can commercial and migration policies of the EU be sustainable in the long run?
  • What are the economic and financial implications of climate change?

The following issues are currently under research by CefES members:

  • Empirical and Theoretical Foundations of European Electricity Markets: Prices, Capacities and Trading Mechanisms.
  • Productivity, Growth, Convergence and Resource Distribution in the EMU.
  • A Dynamic Approach to Market Accessibility: History and theory.
  • Norms and rules. Causes and effects of socio-demographic, economic and political dynamics inside and outside Europe.
  • The home bias of financial intermediaries.
  • A stronger EU: better taxation and more representation.
  • Multilevel governance and economic growth.
  • The EU’s development cooperation and trade policy approach: how successful that is?
  • Sovereign debt restructurings: official vs private defaulters.
  • Migration as a development challenge: evidence on the root causes of immigration to Europe.
  • Addressing inequality and social exclusion for inclusive growth in the EU
  • Board diversity and FDI in Europe. Which direction of causality?
  • How to foster bank credit to SMEs without impairing financial stability?
  • Growth and top management team transformation in entrepreneurial ventures.
  • The economic and financial implications of climate change.

The Center for European Studies is hosted by the Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) of the University of Milano-Bicocca.
The Center has been organising international conferences and workshops since 2018. Its members regularly publish on international scientific journals and collaborate with other Departments at Milano Bicocca University, with several Italian and international Universities.
In 2018, DEMS was awarded a five-year grant from the Italian Ministry of Research (MIUR) for the high standards achieved in research.