Bocconi First in Europe for ERC-Funded Projects in Economics, Finance and Management

Università Bocconi is the European research institution hosting the highest number of European Research Council (ERC) -funded projects in economics, finance and management as of end of 2012, according to ERC official data. It is also seventh in Europe when enlarging the perimeter to all ERC-funded projects in social sciences and humanities.

Bocconi is hosting 10 funded projects in economics, finance and management, ahead of Toulouse School of Economics (9 projects) and University College London (7). Including two more projects in other fields of social sciences and humanities, Bocconi is hosting projects worth a total € 10.6 million.

ERC is a flagship component of the 'Ideas Programme' of the European Union's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7) and has a budget of € 7.5 billion for the period 2007 to 2013. The ERC's mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding. ERC grants are awarded through open competition to projects headed by starting and established researchers, irrespective of their origins, who are working or moving to work in Europe. "The sole criterion for selection is scientific excellence", the ERC website states. "And that's the reason why being at the top of this ranking", Vice Rector for Research Tito Boeri says, "is an acknowledgement of Bocconi's capability to attract talents and to develop frontier research in social sciences".

The Bocconi scholars principal investigators of ERC-funded projects are Arnstein Aassve, Guido Alfani, Pierpaolo Battigalli, Maristella Botticini, Nicola Gennaioli, Eliana La Ferrara, Massimo Marinacci, Alessia Melegaro, Tommaso Monacelli, Marco Ottaviani, Fabrizio Perri, Guido Tabellini.