Augusto Cerqua

Augusto Cerqua serves as Associate Professor of Economic Statistics at Sapienza University of Rome's Department of Social and Economic Sciences. His research focuses on industrial/regional policy impacts and counterfactual evaluation methods, with publications spanning top journals including Journal of Regional Science, Regional Studies, and Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. He teaches advanced courses in empirical modeling, policy evaluation, and statistical methods for public policy.

Cerqua's research program centers on Regional and Industrial Policy, Education and Labour Economics, Political Economy, and Tourism and Environmental Economics. He employs rigorous quantitative techniques—particularly regression discontinuity designs and non-parametric methods—to evaluate policy effectiveness. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with real-world applications in public administration, emphasizing causal inference in contexts like local governance, migration flows, and environmental policy implementation. The ERC SH1_13 and SH2_9 classifications reflect his expertise in institutional dynamics and regional development.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a dominant focus on policy evaluation methodologies applied to pressing socio-economic challenges. Key thematic clusters include political economy (examining electoral behavior and institutional incentives), regional development (assessing spatial disparities and place-based interventions), and crisis response (quantifying pandemic impacts and recovery trajectories). His methodological signature involves innovative causal inference approaches for contexts lacking clear control groups, frequently leveraging administrative data and spatial regression techniques.

Cerqua actively leads research projects including 'The impact of place-based policies when public transfers fade out,' demonstrating sustained engagement with EU structural funds evaluation. His teaching portfolio—covering empirical models, computational policy methods, and quantitative public policy analysis—directly translates research expertise into graduate education for programs in International Economic Relations, Environmental Sustainability, and Global Economics.