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Giovanni Andrea Cornia

University of Florence, Italy

"I’m honoured to be a part of this well established project. I am sure that policymakers and academics alike will find World of Labor a useful way to quickly learn the latest research results on a wide range of economic and social issues." Professor Giovanni Andrea Cornia passed away in July 2024. He was a brilliant Italian economist and we are very grateful for his contribution to the IZA World of Labor.

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Professor of Economics, Department of Economics and Management (formerly Faculty of Economics), University of Florence, Italy

Research interest

Income and asset inequality, poverty, growth, child well-being, human development and mortality crises, transition economics, and institutional economics

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Consultant (2010) on inequality policies to the Argentinean government (Ministry of Labour), Co-Director (2015–2006) of a UNDP study on Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Past positions

Director of the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU/WIDER) based in Helsinki (Aug. 1995–Dec. 1999); Director of the Economic and Social Policy Research Programme at the now renamed Innocenti Research Centre (the worldwide research centre of Unicef), Florence, Italy (Sept. 1988–Aug. 1995); Chief Economist, UNICEF Headquarters, New York (Oct. 1981–Aug. 1988)

Qualifications

Laurea Degree (MSc) Economics, University of Bologna, 1970; Laurea Degree Statistics (MSc), University of Bologna, 1975

Selected publications

  • Adjustment with a Human Face: Protecting the Vulnerable and Promoting Growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987 (with R. Jolly and F. Stewart).The Mortality Crisis of Transitional Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000 (with Renato Paniccià).Pro-Poor Macroeconomics: Potential and Limitations. London: Palgrave, 2006.Falling Inequality in Latin America: Policy Changes and Lessons. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.Towards Human Development: New Approaches to Macroeconomics and Inequality (a volume in honour of Professor Sir Richard Jolly). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014 (with F. Stewart).

article(s)

  • The mortality crisis in transition economies

    Social disruption, acute psychosocial stress, and excessive alcohol consumption raise mortality rates during transition to a market economy

    Giovanni Andrea Cornia, October 2016
    Large and sudden economic and political changes, even if potentially positive, often entail enormous social and health costs. Such transitory costs are generally underestimated or neglected by incumbent governments. The mortality crisis experienced by the former communist countries of Europe—which caused ten million excess deaths from 1990 to 2000—is a good example of how the transition from a low to a high socio-economic level can generate huge social costs if it is not actively, effectively, and equitably managed from a public policy perspective.
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