EUI, SCHOOL OF TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT, 2023 – 2024
Big data are everywhere, from big firms to big government. Policy leaders must
know the use (and misuse) of data, either to regulate them or to use them to
design welfare-enhancing policies. Moreover, they must be aware that the
enormous predictive power of big data may sometimes mislead us into drawing
false conclusion and hamper sound policy making. That’s why policy leaders
must also know smart data, that is, design-based data analysis meant to
distinguish spurious correlations from causal relationships. This seminar will
discuss these topics through both theory and case studies, so as to equip
students with the essential skills to navigate the data-driven landscape of
governance. Nowadays, data analysis cannot be missing in any high-level
public policy training, even more so at the transnational level.