Gianmarco Ottaviano, a Scholar of Migrations Returns to Italy
"I left Italy six years ago. Bocconi was already on its course to become one of the best European universities. I am curious to know how much it has changed in the meantime". Ottaviano spent three periods at Bocconi: as an Economic and Social Sciences student and during the PhD in Economics, with the supervision of Fabrizio Onida; as an Associate Professor from 2001 to 2002; as a Full Professor from 2008 to 2011, "the years of internationalization". He will come back to Milan in September, coming from the London School of Economics, to teach International Economics to undergraduate students and do research at the Department of Economics.
Professor Ottaviano also held positions at the Università di Bologna and was research fellow in centers and institutes in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland. In 2011 he moved to the London School of Economics. He recalls it as a great experience in internationalization: "I have been teaching hundreds of students, sometimes more than a thousand. They were of all nationalities. I had the whole world in front of me".
His research is mainly focused on international trade, multinationals, migration and its effects in the EU and the US. He was in London when the Brexit referendum was held. He deals with the topic in The Costs and Benefits of Leaving the EU: Trade Effects, one of the Brexit policy papers of the Center for Economic Performance of Economics at the London School of Economics. "This is one of the landmark researches carried out to quantify the effects of Brexit. This is the application of a general equilibrium trade model to understand ex ante what may happen in different scenarios. This is a good example of researchers coming out of their ivory tower and talking to the world".
When he was living in England, Ottaviano appreciated both the high level of the public debate on the economy, which benefits from insights provided by top scholars, and the proactive approach of politicians and high administrative officers in seeking independent opinions. He also appreciated the distribution of administrative and teaching workload at the London School of Economics. "This is the kind of teamwork and cooperative environment I expect to find at Bocconi too". Ottaviano is a supporter of Inter football club. He left Milan right after the famous triplete. Since then, the team has failed to win any important competition. "I saved myself from the mockery of the AC Milan supporters", he says smiling. "I hope to return to the city at the right time".