PEACE ECONOMICS

Active participation is considered essential to this class and is evaluated as much as one third of the final score (10/30): one minute papers, presentations, mutual interactions, group of studies are key ingredients to the learning targets of the corse.

One third of the final vote is obtained with the oral exam (10/30) and one thir with the written exam (10/30).

Targets. Students will be familiar with the distinction – at the core of peace economics - between productive and unproductive activities, and between contested and uncontested activities. The course will supply students with an understanding of the ‘positive side’ of economics (which embraces the study of conflict, interpreted as a strategic destructive interaction between rational agents) and the ‘normative’ peace economics (the study of those economic concepts and policies intended to minimize the unproductive components within economies, thereby also reducing the risk of outbreak of actual conflicts). Gender perspective, climate change and inequalities are key issues to peace process and will be given reasonable space for an intellectual grasp of the main points. Students will also read the 1919 John Maynard Keynes’ fundamental contribution The Economic Consequences of the Peace, to be acquainted with classical textbook. As active learning process, a case study in Catania of peace process building will be presented to students to grasp the complexity of societal, urban- planning and economic decisions. Where needed, introductory economic knowledge and analytical tools will be reviewed.

- Caruso R. (2010), On the nature of peace economics, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 16, No. 2. )

- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239809814_Peace_economists_and_peace_economics)

- Caruso R. (2017), Peace economics and peaceful policies, The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 )

- Caruso R. (2015) Beyond deterrence and decline towards a general understanding of peace economics, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 123, No. 1)

- Buhaug H., (2016), The climate change and the security threaten. Climate Change and Conflict: Taking Stock , in Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, Vol. 22, No. 4)

-Gizelis T.I. (2018), Systematic Study of Gender, Conflict, and Peace, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 24, No. 4.

- Keynes, J. M. (1919), The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1 ed.). London: Macmillan & Co., Limited. p. 279. Retrieved 2 June 2016 – via Internet Archive.

- World Bank and United Nations (2018), Pathways for Peace Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, The World Bank Group, Washington DC -

- Piketty, T. (2017), Capital in XXI Century, Harvard University Prss, (Introduction Chapters, 1. 7. 10).

- Frank, R. (2014) Microeconomics and Behaviours, Mc Graw Hills (Chapters 1. 2. 8. 9.10).