Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ExSIDE (Expectations and Social Influence Dynamics in Economics)
Période du rapport: 2019-01-01 au 2021-06-30
ExSIDE is driven by the several main research and training objectives. With respect to research work is structured in several closely interlinked research goals:
a) Gain a better understanding of expectation formation processes relying on insights from behavioural (experimental) Economics and Psychology.
b) Explore the role of social networks for the diffusion of opinions.
c) Integrate expectation formation and social influence dynamics in market models in order to gain a better understanding of the feedback between real dynamics and expectation dynamics. Extend further to macroeconomic models.
d) Explore effects of different policies (and firm strategies) in dynamic (macro-) economic frameworks with adaptive expectation dynamics.
This research agenda is combined with a structured training program for Early Stage Researchers (ESR) adressing the following main objectives:
a) Provide doctoral fellows with the necessary interdisciplinary background to and perfect environment to carry out research of highest level in the area of expectation formation and social influence.
b) Complement the focussed training in the key areas of ExSIDE with a solid general graduate education in Economics.
c) Facilitate the early development of an own research profile as well as the ability for critical reflection on own and others’ research.
d) Foster the interaction of doctoral fellows with different research environments as well as with non-academic environments and integrate them in the relevant international communities.
e) Provide doctoral fellows with crucial transferrable skills needed to pursue a successful career in the academic and non-academic sector or to launch their own company. In particular, time management, presentation skills, academic writing, effective communication, as well as the necessary self-reflection and management of self-confidence.
f) Facilitate female career perspectives.
ExSIDE aims to strengthen the higher education system in Europe and at the same time will boost research on different approaches for the analysis of expectation formation and social influence dynamics and will provide guidance for policy design. Furthermore, ExSIDE generates the largest network of European universities pursuing a joint structured doctoral program in Economics with a common research and training agenda delivering joint respectively double degrees.
With respect to the training program, all planned Research Training Schools have been completed exactly as scheduled involving a large number of accomplished scientists both form within ExSIDE and outside ExSIDE as instructors. In addition, all ESRs have completed additional training attending local doctoral courses or summer schools during their first year of training. All ESRs have progressed substantially in their own research agenda and either have already completed their non-academic secondments or the start dates of their secondments have been fixed and agreed upon with the non-academic partners.
The ability to deliver a joint or double degree from two ExSIDE universities is an important aspect of ExSIDE. Joint Supervisory Agreements (JSA), which determine the details of the joint supervision and degree procedure, have been succesfully generated for all 15 ESRs in the ExSIDE program.
All these insights have wider social implications. Apart from usual academic channels they have been disseminated through a policy maker meeting, social media and interaction with the non-academic partners in ExSIDE, in particular also during extensive secondments of the doctoral fellows at these partners. A project video explaining the societal challenges addressed by ExSIDE has been produced and put online, as well as short videos for the individual research projects of all ExSIDE early stage researchers. These activities will be intensified as more research results are generated by ExSIDE members. The international ExSIDE conference, also including a policy maker meeting, at the end of the project will also be an important event in this respect.
With respect to internationalization of doctoral education in Europe the establishment of joint and double degree arrangements at the different universities involved in ExSIDE has contributed to the strenghtening of institutional structures fostering joint supervision and graduation of doctoral students.