A Master degree in economics, management studies, or a similar field is preferred. Because the project's methodological focus will be quantitative, it is highly required that the candidate has a strong background in statistics and/or econometrics. Familiarity with some statistical software packages (e.G., R, Stata) and/or programming languages (e.G., MATLAB, Python) is appreciated. Fluency in English, both written and spoken, is recommended. We cannot expect candidates to be proficient in most of the needed knowledge fields because the study is heavily inter-disciplinary. As a result, we want individuals who are eager to study how to use a wide range of tools and become familiar with a broad range of disciplines, including network analysis and machine learning techniques.

The IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca is a Public University School for Higher Education and Research with a special statute that focuses on the analysis of economic, societal, technological and cultural systems. The campus includes spaces for research and laboratories, courses, and living and recreation. The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with scholars affiliated to the Laboratory for the Analysis of compleX Economic Systems (AXES) of the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca. AXES is a research unit whose work spans different fields of economics: from economic theory to applied econometrics, from international economics to political economy, from spatial and urban economics to industrial organization and business economics. Researchers incorporate skills and tools from different disciplines, including graph theory, the physics of complex systems and data science. AXES hosts seminars and dissemination events on a regular basis, and the chosen PhD candidate will be expected to attend these events as well as be actively involved in the unit's dissemination and other research activities. Scholars affiliated to AXES have published in top journals including the Journal of Business Ethics, Scientific Reports, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, PlosONE, and Machine Learning, among others. Website: https://axes.Imtlucca.It/.