INFLUENCES: the Politecnico di Milano hosted the PRIN Workshop on inflation's return
An international dialogue among scholars and experts to explore new inflationary dynamics and the most effective responses, bridging advanced research and public policy impact.
After more than a decade of price stability, inflation has returned to the forefront of economic debate. The first quarter of 2022 saw a significant increase in inflation across the euro area, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with rates exceeding 5–6%. What are the causes of this phenomenon? What are its implications for economic policy? And what tools do policymakers currently have to address the uncertainty surrounding price developments?
These are the key questions addressed by the research project INFLUENCES – INFLation: caUsEs, coNsequenCES, and policy implications, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research as part of the PRIN 2022 program, and coordinated by Professor Efrem Castelnuovo of the University of Padua.
The project aims to investigate the causes of rising inflation and its consequences, analyzing how public spending and global value chains influence price dynamics and inflation uncertainty.
INFLUENCES brings together an interdisciplinary team of economists from the University of Padua and the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. The Department research unit, led by Anna Florio, includes Daniele Siena, Lucia Tajoli, Rocco Mosconi, Giulia Felice, and Miriam Manchin.
On June 30 and July 1, 2025, an international workshop on inflation was held at the Navigli campus of the POLIMI Graduate School of Management. The initiative featured presentations of recent studies conducted by members of the PRIN research group at the Politecnico di Milano, alongside contributions from scholars affiliated with prestigious international institutions. The two-day event brought together prominent international economists - including Giorgio Primiceri (Northwestern University), Leonardo Melosi (EUI, DNB), Sarah Zubairy (Texas A&M), Francesca Monti (Université Catholique de Louvain), Salvatore Nisticò (Sapienza University of Rome), Guido Ascari (University of Pavia, DNB), Laura Castillo Martinez (Duke University), and Tommaso Monacelli (Bocconi University) - who presented recent research on monetary policy, the role of public spending, macroeconomic uncertainty, and trust in central banks.
In addition to plenary sessions, the workshop featured two poster sessions dedicated to young researchers and PhD students, offering a valuable opportunity for academic exchange and showcasing emerging research on inflation.
The event included also the presentation of Eric Leeper’s (University of Virginia) new book, “Fiscal Foundations of Inflation” (Princeton University Press), which offers an innovative perspective on inflation, moving beyond a purely monetary narrative.
The workshop served as a significant moment of scientific dissemination and academic exchange, with the potential to inform future economic policy decisions in an increasingly complex and evolving macroeconomic landscape.