Trento School of applied Quantitative Research

FOURTH EDITION

25 - 27 October 2023

Education and social inequalities

Logo Dipartimento di sociologia e Ricerca Sociale

The "Trento School of Applied Quantitative Research" provides advanced training on key social science research topics using an analytical approach based on sociological, economic, demographic, statistical and computer science perspectives.

The School aims to provide a systematic integration of the theoretical, methodological and technical ‘cutting-edge’ aspects of applied quantitative research.

The School is addressed to PhD students, post-docs and early-stage researchers of universities, public and private research institutions.

Official language of the School is English.

The fourth edition focuses on Education and Social Inequalities. The School will be held on-site in Trento, Italy, from 25th to 27th October 2023.

PROGRAM

This edition of the school focuses on Education and Social Inequalities. Theoretical sessions deal with inequalities in educational expectations and returns and in skill development, and the role of social origin. The methods sessions provide a specific training on (1) integration of micro and macro data for comparative analysis; (2) causal estimation in observational settings using regression discontinuity design (RDD); and (3) use of field experiments for the study of educational interventions.

Morning session
The presentation of on-going research or recently published papers with a detailed discussion of the research design, theoretical framework and the innovative contribution with respect to the previous literature.

Afternoon session
An applied session to address the research strategies and methodological techniques used to implement the analysis of the research questions in the studies at stake. In this session participants will discuss and apply the methods and techniques characterizing the topic and the works presented in the morning.
 
The Trento School of Applied Quantitative Research will give participants the opportunity to learn the conceptual steps and empirical tools needed to develop theoretically-guided empirical research, which uses high-quality data and advanced analysis techniques.

Detailed Program

October 25th - Luis Ortiz-Gervasi (UPF Barcelona)

Morning session: Educational expectations, the role of social origin and gender
Afternoon session: Comparative analysis using micro and macro data

October 26th - Fabrizio Bernardi and Mar C. Espadafor (UNED)

Morning session: Compensatory advantage and mechanisms of educational inequalities
Afternoon session: Regression discontinuity design

October 27th - Carlo Barone (Sciences Po)

Morning session: Behavioral models and educational inequalities in skill development
Afternoon session: The design of field experiments in education

SPEAKERS

Luis Ortiz-Gervasi
Luis Ortiz-Gervasi is Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. His research interests include educational expectations and expansion, skill mismatch, and social inequalities in the transition from education to work. He is member of the editorial board of Work, Employment and Society and committee member of the European Research Network on Transitions in Youth (TiY). He is coordinator of the Research Master in Sociology and Demography at Pompeu Fabra.

Fabrizio Bernardi
Fabrizio Bernardi is Full Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology II of UNED in Madrid. Between 2010 and 2022 he was Professor of Sociology at the European University Institute in Florence. His research focuses on social stratification, inequality in educational opportunities and returns, family and labour market dynamics. He is editor in chief of the European Sociological Review. He is currently the leader of the work package on educational inequalities of the Horizon Europe project MapIneq.

Mar C. Espadafor
Mar C. Espadafor is a Postdoctoral Researcher at UNED in Madrid on the Horizon Europe project MapIneq, focusing on inequalities and their transmission across generations and institutions using quantitative methods and causal inference designs. She holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence.

Carlo Barone
Carlo Barone is Full Professor at the Centre for Research on Social Inequalities at Sciences Po in Paris. His research focuses on educational inequalities and policies, rational choice and behavioral models, and the application of field experiments for the analysis of educational interventions. He is associate editor of the European Sociological Review. At Sciences Po, he teaches courses on methods for policy evaluation and social inequalities in comparative perspective.

APPLICATION

Selection is now closed.

Selected candidates can register following the online procedure.


FEES

The fee for participation is € 300; it includes tuition, coffee breaks and lunches during the 3-day event, and the social dinner.

Participants will be responsible for the costs of board and lodging in Trento.

Accommodations at agreed rates can be found in the dedicated page

Selected candidates enrolled at the University of Trento are fee-exempted, but they need to register in any case.

PAST EDITIONS

THIRD EDITION
30 November - 2 December 2022
Technological Change, Inequality and Social Stratification

Detailed program

The substantive topics include the role of Technology, Institutions and Demographic Change in shaping income inequality; the impact of Robotization, AI, and Algorithmic Management on jobs availability, job quality and employment structure; as well as the dynamics and mechanisms of intergenerational mobility. Applied sessions cover (1) data, research design and analytical tools applied to the analysis of technologically induced structural change; (2) decomposition techniques and measurement of inequality using survey data; and (3) the use of machine learning for the study of intergenerational mobility.

30 November - Enrique Fernández-Macías and Mattia Sostero (Joint Research Center - European Commission)
  • morning session: Automation, digitisation and platforms: Implications for work and employment
  • afternoon session: Learning about workplace tasks and digital skills from online job advertisements
1 December - Zachary Parolin (Bocconi University)
  • morning session: Explaining the rise of income inequality in Europe: technology, institutions, or demographic change?
  • afternoon session: Decomposition analysis
2 December - Michele Raitano and Francesco Bloise (Sapienza University of Rome)
  • morning session: Structural determinants of income inequality: education, technology and family background
  • afternoon session: Using Machine Learning to measure inequality and intergenerational mobility

SECOND EDITION
24 - 26 November 2021
Health inequalities, family and labour market dynamics

Detailed program

The substantive topics include the correlates of psychological and physical health in terms of parental marriage and ethnicity, employment and unemployment transitions, and the role of welfare policies in longitudinal and comparative perspectives. Applied sessions cover classification and regression tree (CART) methods, hybrid panel models and difference-in-differences propensity score matching.

24 November - Anna Baranowska-Rataj (Umeå University)
  • morning session: Partner's unemployment and health in comparative perspective
  • afternoon session: Analysing comparative longitudinal data
25 November - Wendy Sigle (London School of Economics) and Alice Goisis (University College London)
  • morning session: The health advantages associated with parental marriage
  • afternoon session: Using and interpreting demographic measures in quantitative research
26 November - Jonas Voßemer (MZES/University of Frankfurt) and Michael Gebel (University of Bamberg)
  • morning session: Unemployment, temporary work, and health and well-being
  • afternoon session: How to estimate effects using difference-in-differences combined with statistical matching

FIRST EDITION
9-11 October 2019
Household Dynamics, Family Events, and Inequalities in the Life-Course

Detailed program

The substantive topics include education and marital dissolution, employment and divorce, couples’ division of labour in comparative and longitudinal perspective. The applied sessions will cover panel data models, multi-process hazard models and meta-analytical tools.
9 october
  • morning session Juho Härkönen (European University Institute) Parental Education and Family Dissolutions
  • afternoon session M.D. Anne Brons (Utrecht University) How to compare countries and cohorts using meta-analytical tools
10 october
  • morning session Daniele Vignoli  (University of Florence) Women’s employment and divorce in a comparative perspective
  • afternoon session Valentina Tocchioni  (University of Florence) How to account for selection and anticipation mechanism using multi-process models
11 october
  • morning session Thomas Leopold  (University of Amsterdam) Retirement and gender gap in  household labor
  • afternoon session Jan Skopek (Trinity College Dublin)  How to study individual changes over time using fixed-effects panel regression models

VENUE

The Square School will take place at the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Trento (via Verdi, 26). The Department is located in the heart of the historic centre of Trento, just a short walk from the Cathedral (Piazza Duomo) and 10 minutes’ walk from the railway station.

Getting here

by car or coach

The main road accesses to Trento are the following:
Strada Statale dell'Abetone e del Brennero SS12;
Autostrada del Brennero - A22 motorway; coming by A22 is necessary take the Trento Sud exit and follow the SS12 direction Trento centro;
Superstrada della Valsugana for those coming from Venice SS47;
Strada Statale 45 bis (Gardesana Occidentale) for those coming from Brescia.

by train

All long-distance Italian and European trains stop in Trento. Timetable details can be seen on the following link: Trenitalia or Italo.

by airplane

If you are travelling by plain, you can land at:

  • Verona Catullo Airport - 95 km: the airport has a shuttle bus service, which takes to the railway station of Verona. By car, take the motorway A22 from the entrance Verona Nord.
  • Bergamo Orio al Serio "Caravaggio" (180 Km) – This is the main Italian hub for low cost airlines. The airport is connected to Bergamo and Milano with bus services and also hosts numerous car rental companies. Trento is reached in a couple of hours by car via the A4 and A22 motorways.
  • Innsbruck (180 Km) - From Innsbruck you can reach Trento in a couple of hours by car going through the Brenner pass and driving along the A22 motorway. If you would like to travel by train, Innsbruck is on the route connecting Munich, Brenner, and Verona.
    Venice "Marco Polo" (220 km) – the airport is connected to the nearby railway stations of Venice-Santa Lucia and Mestre-Venice by scheduled bus services. By car take the SS14 and continue on A27, take the exit direction Milano/Bologna and continue on A4. After 70 km take the exit Brennero/Verona and take the A22.
    Bologna “Guglielmo Marconi” (229 km) - the airport is connected to the train station by the shuttle bus service. By car, Trento can be reached in a couple of hours driving via the motorways (A1 to Modena and then A22 northwards).
  • Milano Linate (215 km) – the shuttle service will take you to the Stazione Centrale of Milano, from this central station you can easily take the train to Trento (there is no direct train, it’s necessary to change train in Verona Porta Nuova, from where there is a train to Trento almost every hour). By car follow direction to motorway A4 Milano/Venezia. After 100 km take the Peschiera exit and follow direction to A22 motorway.
    Milano Malpensa (265 km): the shuttle service is the same as at the Milano Linate. By car take the Strada Statale SS336 direction A8 Milano. So take the motorway A8 and after 12 km take A4 motorway direction Venezia. After 100 km take the Peschiera exit and follow direction to A22 motorway.
City Travel

Travelling within the Province is convenient thanks to the local bus and train network. Taxis can be caught anywhere in the city or booked on the phone number (+39) 0461 930002.

CONTACT

For any further information please write to tn_square.soc@unitn.it

Organising secretariat:
Segreteria Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale
Via Verdi, 26 - 38122 Trento, Italy
tel. (+39) 0461 281396
segreteria.srs@unitn.it