Angelo Among the Best Young Economists in the ECB Competition

ANGELO D'ANDREA, PHD AT BOCCONI, WAS AMONG THE 9 FINALISTS OF THE ECB'S 2020 YOUNG ECONOMIST COMPETITION HELD LAST WEEK DURING THE ANNUAL ECB FORUM

“A once in lifetime experience”. This is how Angelo D’Andrea, in his last year of the PhD in Economics and Finance at Bocconi, describes his participation as one of the nine finalists of the ECB’s 2020 Young Economist competition held last week during the annual ECB Forum

The competition is open to students from universities all around the world currently enrolled in a PhD programme in economics or finance. Participants were invited to apply with a paper addressing this years’ theme: “Central banks in a shifting world”.

Angelo participated with his paper ‘High-Speed Internet, Financial Technology and Banking’ co-authored with Nicola Limodio, professor at the Department of Finance in Bocconi.

“In the paper we analyze the effects of high-speed internet on banking in Africa through a study on the impact of the installation of fibre-optic submarine cables,” Angelo explains. “We find that fast internet promotes financial technology adoption, interbank transactions and lending. Results indicate that infrastructure investment is a driver of capital markets integration.”

The 9 selected finalists shared their research with policymakers, top academics and economists from around the world at the ECB Forum, which this year was held online, on 11 and 12 November. A panel of senior ECB staff and top academics assessed the posters, also taking into account votes cast by the Forum participants.

“In one session we had the occasion of presenting our work to two members of the ECB Executive Board, Philip Lane and Isabel Schnabel, who gave us some very relevant and constructive feedback,” says Angelo. “Overall it was a very formative experience, a once in a lifetime occasion.”

by Tomaso Eridani