Improving life opportunities for all citizens by ensuring equity in access to healthcare, education and training, care and assistance services, mobility, and transportation, represents a crucial challenge in strengthening modern liberal societies and reinforcing the legitimacy of their institutions. This is particularly relevant in the context of rapid technological innovation and strict public budget constraints. The XXXVII Conference of the Italian Society of Public Economics (SIEP) will focus on these issues, with particular attention to public policy governance, the territorial allocation of resources, and the effects of digital transformations.

The Conference's Scientific Committee invites the submission of theoretical and empirical contributions on this topic and, more broadly, on key issues in public economics and finance, including: Health and healthcare policies - Externalities and environmental policies - Poverty and social inclusion policies - Pension policies - Educational inequalities and education policies - Public policies and gender equality - Right to mobility and public transportation systems - Tax structure, efficiency, and equity - Institutional quality and public decision-making processes - Regulation and competition policies - Local public finance and fiscal federalism - Immigration and public finance.

The conference will be held in Naples on September 18-19, 2025. The keynote speaker will be David Seim from Stockholm University (https://www.davidseim.com). Professor Seim is a co-Editor of the Journal of Public Economics and a Research Fellow at CEPR, CESifo, IZA, and the EU Tax Observatory. His research covers public finance, political economy, and labor economics. Additionally, the Conference will host a roundtable discussion on the Essential Levels of Services (LEP) to be granted to citizens. The discussion will focus on defining LEPs in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and mobility, making them a useful tool to expand and balance citizens’ access to essential services.

The Scientific Committee is coordinated by Sergio Beraldo (University of Naples Federico II) and Massimiliano Piacenza (University of Eastern Piedmont). Other members from the University of Naples Federico II include: Antonio Acconcia, Michela Collaro, Carla Guerriero, Lorenzo Incoronato, Tullio Jappelli, Immacolata Marino, Armando Miano, Riccardo Martina, Sara Moccia, Marco Pagnozzi, Pietro Panizza, Francesco Flaviano Russo, Valeria Zurla. 

Additional members collaborating with the Scientific Committee: Antonio Abatemarco (University of Salerno), Alessio D’Amato (University of Rome Tor Vergata), Roberto Dell’Anno (University of Salerno), Paolo Di Caro (Ministry of Economy and Finance), Cinzia Di Novi (University of Pavia), Fabio Fiorillo (Marche Polytechnic University), Emma Galli (University of Rome La Sapienza), Umberto Galmarini (University of Insubria), Matteo Lippi Bruni (University of Bologna), Giovanna Messina (Bank of Italy), Stefania Ottone (University of Turin), Vito Peragine (University of Bari), Paola Profeta (Bocconi University), Silvana Robone (University of Eastern Piedmont), Edilio Valentini (University of Chieti-Pescara G. D’Annunzio) 

Submission Guidelines

Authors wishing to submit papers to the Conference can do so from February 17 until May 30, 2025.

Only full papers accompanied by an abstract, JEL codes, and keywords will be considered.

The Scientific Committee will notify authors of the selection outcome by June 20, 2025.

All participants must register and pay the registration fee by July 4, 2025. Instructions for registration and payment will be available on the SIEP 2025 conference website.

PhD students or those who obtained their PhD after January 1, 2024, can participate at a reduced registration fee. To qualify, in addition to registering on EasyChair, indicating whether they wish to participate in a young researchers' session (multi-topic with assigned discussants), they must also send a statement from their PhD Coordinator or supervisor confirming their status to info@siepweb.it.

The provisional conference program will be available from July 18, 2025, and the final versions of the accepted papers must be submitted via EasyChair by September 5, 2025.

SIEP Prize 2025

The SIEP Prize 2025 is open to authors under the age of 35 (all co-authors must meet this criterion) who commit to presenting their paper at the Conference (at least one author must be present). Applications for the prize must be submitted simultaneously with the paper submission for the Conference, and the prize will be awarded to the winner in person during the Conference.Detailed information on the application procedure is available at:  https://www.siepweb.it/siep/wp/en/premio-siep/

Etta Chiuri Prize

The Conference will also host the Etta Chiuri Prize, reserved for economists under 40 who submit a paper on topics related to household consumption decisions, housing market imperfections, and immigration.

Further details on the prize and application process are available here: https://www.siepweb.it/siep/wp/en/en/premio-etta-chiuri/

SIEP members are encouraged to share this announcement with colleagues who may be interested. Further information on the Conference will be available on the SIEP website: https://www.siepweb.it/siep/wp/en/en/xxxvii-siep-conference-2025/