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The Ph.D. program in "Economics, Business and Statistics" represents the third-level educational offering of the Department of Economics, Business, and Statistics (DSEAS). The objective of the Ph.D. program is to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills to analyze and understand complex real-world phenomena related to economic, financial, managerial, and social sciences. Statistical methodologies for empirical research, with a particular emphasis on the behaviors and performances of economic agents (e.g., consumers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and public entities), as well as the State, central banks, and other national and supranational independent authorities, are of central relevance and interest.

The current educational proposal enriches the content of the previous Ph.D. in "Economics and Statistics" offered by DSEAS since 2015. Indeed, the previous proposal, focused on theoretical and applied developments in Statistics, the measurement, and empirical analysis of economic and social phenomena, is enriched by the contribution of the Accounting, Management, and Organization research tradition, which has always been present in our Department. Therefore, the doctoral candidates will also be provided with advanced knowledge and skills to investigate the management, organization, and control of firms, as well as their main functions (namely, finance, marketing, and production).

The Ph.D. project moves along three main directions: (a) the University's 2021-2023 strategic plan, aiming to "strengthen basic research, applied research, and scientific project planning to address emerging challenges nationally and internationally." Indeed, the primary objective of the Ph.D. is to provide advanced knowledge and skills for high-impact research for the academic community and the territory, with a particular focus on economic and social phenomena; (b) the strategic axes of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) related to digitization and innovation, ecological transition, and social inclusion. Advanced knowledge and skills for economic and social research are necessary for any scenario analysis, a prerequisite for policy or entrepreneurial decisions, as well as for evaluating the performance of digitization processes, sustainable development, gender gap reduction, promotion of legality, etc.; (c) the demands of stakeholders - informally listened to - who require specialized professional roles for the management and analysis of information flows related to economic and business phenomena.

The educational project consists of three curricula: (a) Economics and Finance; (b) Business and Management; (c) Statistics and Applied Mathematics.

The “Economics and Finance" curriculum aims to train scholars capable of developing analytical and computational tools for the analysis of data on market balances and dynamics (including financial markets).

The "Business and Management" curriculum aims to train scholars with a theoretical and methodological background that allows them to develop innovative studies for the advancement of research in accounting, management, and organization, referring to firms of various sizes and sectors (including the banking sector).

Finally, the "Statistics and Applied Mathematics" curriculum aims to train scholars capable of developing statistical methodologies and their computational implementations for the study of economic, social, and health phenomena.

However, the major educational challenge of the Ph.D. - following the tradition of the previous program in "Economics and Statistics" - is to implement an interdisciplinary approach that enhances education and, simultaneously, facilitates the development of a knowledge integration process. This process, stemming from data analysis, helps provide meaning to the data, interpret the results, and foster new scientific discoveries. This interdisciplinary approach will be consolidated through team-building meetings and the construction of research teams with different disciplinary knowledge. At the end of the Ph.D. course, students will have acquired the ability to conduct research activities with interactive collaboration both with researchers and professors from various disciplines involved in the Ph.D. project, and with professional roles from the private sector or public administration.

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The Ph.D. program, in summary, includes the following points:

1. Training and participation activities, as attendees, in seminars related to the distinctive disciplines and those related to the chosen Ph.D. curriculum;
2. Conducting, under the guidance of a supervising professor, a research program - articulated in at least 3 distinct contributions in English - approved by the Doctoral Board and related to a disciplinary field among those specified by the Ph.D.;
3. Additional training activities complementary to research, including cross-cutting activities, such as improving specialized scientific language proficiency in both Italian and foreign languages, developing advanced computer skills, training in research management and intellectual property valorization, knowledge of European and international research systems, and elements of European design;
4. Marginally and residually, subsidiary or integrative ing assigned to the Ph.D. candidate.

Finally, Ph.D. candidates will be encouraged to participate in the department's life, present advancements in their research work in seminars and international conferences, and attend specialized summer schools.

The attainment of the Doctoral degree is subject to the acquisition of 180 ECTS (60 per year), certified by a document outlining/summarizing the activities carried out, prepared by the Ph.D. candidate and accompanied by an evaluation signed by the supervising professor. At the beginning of each academic year, the Ph.D. candidates will present their training programs to the Doctoral Board who will approve them. The activities that the Ph.D. candidate intends to undertake during the year and the corresponding educational credits must be approved by the supervising professor and the Ph.D. coordinator.

Educational credits are divided based on the following criteria:

1. 24 to 36 for training courses with a final assessment;
2. 6 to 14 for seminar activities without a final assessment;
3. 0 to 15 for subsidiary or integrative ing activities assigned to the Ph.D. candidate (seminars for master's degree students, thesis assistance, exercises, exams), equivalent to no more than 40 hours of academic commitment per year, as established in Article 13, point 5) of the Ph.D. Regulation of the University of Palermo;
4. 115 to 150 for independent research activities that conclude with the preparation of the doctoral thesis.

The Ph.D. program envisions a temporal structure oriented in the initial phase towards common training activities, mainly carried out in the first and second years. The Ph.D. candidate's training activities include a study and research period, lasting a minimum of six months, to be spent at one or more foreign universities or research institutions.

The transition to years beyond the first occurs through an English-language presentation of the training and research path undertaken. This presentation should illustrate:

• Research objectives based on a literature review;
• Research methods and data used or intended to be used;
• Expected and/or obtained results;
• Timetable for the progress of the thesis;
• Presentation of research results related to the thesis at other universities and/or conferences;
• Participation in research groups;
• Publications;
• International experiences;
• Other training activities undertaken.