XClose

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Home
Menu

Simone Gasperin

Simone Gasperin is a PhD student at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP).

Simone Gasperin
Simone is a PhD candidate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, supervised by Professor Mariana Mazzucato and Professor Rainer Kattel. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Pisa/Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.

Previously, he studied at the University of Trento (BA in International Studies), at the University of Bath (Visiting Student) and at the University of Sussex (Visiting Researcher). In the past, he worked for a Brussels-based consultancy firm (EuroPartners & Associés), focusing on EU industrial and energy policy.

Before starting his PhD, he trained in firm-level data analysis at the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). During his PhD years, he has taught undergraduate modules at SOAS University of London and at UCL, while assisting the policy and research activities of Professor Lord Robert Skidelsky. In April 2019, Simone organised the YSI-INET/IIPP Conference "Rethinking the State in the 21st century".

He is currently on a temporary leave, working as an Economic Expert at the Prime Minister's Office of Italy.


Research summary

Simone’s provisional PhD thesis title is: The entrepreneurial role of State-owned enterprises as innovative and learning organisations.

Simone’s PhD thesis title is: "Systems of State-ownership: from Public Entrepreneurship to State Shareholding". In his thesis, Simone is exploring the role of State-owned enterprises in economic development. In particular, he is developing the concept of "Systems of State ownership", looking at the way in which different political entities organise their portfolio of State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

In particular, he focuses on the Italian case, comparing the past system of SOEs under the control of the former State-holding company "Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale" (IRI) with the current scenario. His findings show a significant transformation of State ownership in Western economies, from a model where SOEs operated systemically as policy instruments for industrial transformation, to a new one in which SOEs have much less interactions and a limited policy scope. The State, in most cases, has evolved from being and "active entrepreneur" to a more "passive shareholder".

Publications & other work

Books
  • Gabellini T., Gasperin S. and Moneta, A. (2019). (eds.) Economic Crisis and Economic Thought: Alternative Theoretical Perspectives on the Economic Crisis. Routledge.
  • The book is a collection of essays based on the series of seminars Critical Economics in Times of Crisis, held between 2014 and 2015 at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. The event was organised by Simone and a colleague of his during their postgraduate studies.

Find out more about the programme and related material (videos, slides and bibliographical references).

Journal articles
  • Califano, A. and Gasperin, S. (2019). "Multi-speed Europe is already there: catching up and falling behind". Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 51, 152-167.
Policy reports
  • Forum Disuguaglianze Diversità (2020). Missioni Strategiche per le Imprese Pubbliche Italiane. Rapporto della Commissione Imprese e Sviluppo [Rapporteur].
Blogs
  • MacFarlane, L. and Gasperin, S. (2020). State holding companies: an opportunity for economic transformation? UCL IIPP Blog, 9 June 2020.
  • Gasperin, S. (2020). The steel industry in the millennial age. UCL IIPP Blog, 16 January 2020.
  • Gasperin, S. (2019). Citizens’ industrial policy: data ownership and technological sovereignty within cities. UCL IIPP Blog, 28 June 2019.
  • Gaspeirn, S. (2018). Public motorways for public purpose. UCL IIPP Blog, 22 October 2018.
In the media

Newspaper articles

  • Gasperin, S. (2020). Draghi’s fiscal ‘whatever it takes’ may not be enough. (FT, 1 April 2020).
  • Mazzucato, M. and Gasperin, S. (2019). Lo Stato imprenditore e l'eredità dell'Iri. (La Repubblica, 1 December 2019).
  • Gasperin, S. (2019). Lezioni dal disastro Ilva. All’Italia serve il nuovo Iri. (Il Fatto Quotidiano, 20 November 2019).
  • Gasperin, S. (2019). Alitalia, orfana dell’Iri e dello Stato imprenditore. (Il manifesto, 17 Jult 2019).
  • Gasperin, S. (2019). Fca-Renault: l’intervento dello Stato per bilanciare i francesi. (Il manifesto, 31 maggio 2019).
  • Mazzucato, M. and Gasperin, S. (2018). La strada storta dello Stato. (La Repubblica, 1 September 2018)
  • Gasperin, S. (2015). La tecnologia del conflitto" (Il manifesto, 19 June 2015)

Radio and TV appearances

  • Gasperin, S. (2018). Zapping Radio 1. (Radio Rai 1, 5 September 2018).

Contact

Email: simone.gasperin.16@ucl.ac.uk
Twitter: @S_Gasperin
LinkedIn: simone-gasperin-b2b93973