Course 2025-2026 a.y.

Part I

• Introduction to social change trend

• The recent waves of Technological Change, ICT, Robots, AI

• Technological Change and Politics

• Technological Change and Demography

• Labor institutions and the future of work 

Part II

• Definition of a population and related indicators 

• Introduction of health and mortality with definitions, models, measures, and data sources 

• Life tables 

• Longevity revolution and the evolution of population age structure; demographic and health/epidemiological transitions 

• Quantity vs (health related) quality of life and health expectancies 

• Possible scenarios on the impact of population ageing on population health; impact of population ageing on the individual and the society  

Part III

• The science of climate change 

• Where do emissions come from 

• Climate impacts 

• Economics of climate change 

• International Environmental Agreements 

• Understand the impact on social outcomes of the 3rd and 4th industrial revolution. 

• Understand how LLMs and related tools may be used for social science research. 

• Understand the key demographic concepts, models, and measures of population age structure, mortality and health, and related data sources 

• Understanding the demographic and health transitions, analyze the evolution of population age structure and its broad implications  

• Understand the basic science of the climate system 

• Critically discuss environmental policy instruments 

• Understand the current status of International Climate Negotiations

• Analyze the impact of technological change on society, interpret state-of-the-art literature employing LLMs and generative AI in social science, and understand how these tools can be applied in future research. 

• Find the most suitable data, apply the most suitable models and methods to analyze the population age structure, its evolution and the impact of ageing on the individual and the society, such as the possible scenarios on impact of population ageing on population health 

• Understand the implications of climate change and climate policy for governments and businesses 

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Practical Exercises
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

Students will be assigned randomly to groups for three team assignments such as in-class presentations of recent reserch papers, statistical analysis of data, preparation of policy briefs in written or video format.

With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, the assessment will be based on a mid-term "Partial" written exam covering contents from the first half of the course, a second "Partial" written exam covering contents from the second half of the course and continuous assessment with group assignments

The first partial written exams is worth 30% of the total score and the second partial exam is worth 25%. They both consist of multiple choice questions, exercises, closed questions aimed to assess students’ ability to analyze and interpret academic literature about technological, demographic and climate change. The assessment will also be aimed to test students’ developed ability to analyze and discuss the extent and dynamics of Social Transformations based on normative theory and empirical evidence.

The remaining 45% of the final score is assigned based on the continuous assessment on the three group assignments worth 15% each (one for technological change, one for demographic change and one for climate change).

• Acemoglu and Johnson (2024) "Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity
• There is no textbook for this class. Specific textbook chapters or academic handbooks will be uploaded on Blackboard
• The course is based on academic research papers that are uploaded on Blackboard.
• The slides used for lectures are uploaded on Bboard and are compulsory study material for the course.