Last update: November 24, 2022
Theoretical Essay – Possible macro-topics and basic references
MT.1. The big data revolution
Basic suggested references
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Mayer-Schönberger, V., & Cukier, K. (2013). Big data: A revolution that will transform how
we live, work, and think. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and
prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. New York: WW Norton & Company.
Agcom (2018). Big data Interim report nell’ambito dell’indagine conoscitiva di cui alla
delibera n. 217/17/CONS www.agcom.it
MT.2. The economics and innovation of digital data
Basic suggested references
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Duch-Brown, N., Martens, B., & Mueller-Langer, F. (2017). The economics of ownership,
access and trade in digital data. JRC Digital Economy Working Paper 2017-01
World Economic Forum. (2015) Digital Transformation Report.
https://reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/digital-platforms-ecosystems/
OCSE (2014). Data-driven innovation for growth and well-being
www.oecd.org
Boston Consulting Group (2021). The Front-to-Back Digital Retail Bank. Report, available
online
Boston Consulting Group (2022). Sense and sustainability. Report, available online
Ericsson (2022). Ericsson Mobility Report. Report, available online
Ericsson (2021). Ericsson Mobility Report. Report, available online
MT.3. The challenges of data-driven economies
Basic suggested references
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Cowhey, P. F., & Aronson, J. D. (2017). Digital DNA: disruption and the challenges for
global governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Posner, E. A., & Weyl, E. G. (2018). Radical Markets. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University
Press.
Evans, D. S., & Schmalensee, R. (2016). Matchmakers: The new economics of multisided
platforms. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
Zhang, Y. C. (2020). Matchmakers and Markets: The Revolutionary Role of Information in
the Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Haskel, J., & Westlake, S. (2017). Capitalism without capital. Princeton (NJ): Princeton
University Press.
Galloway, S. (2018). The four: the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
London: Penguin.
MT.4. The debate on digital platforms and competition policies
Basic suggested references
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Evans, D. S., & Schmalensee, R. (2016). Matchmakers: The new economics of multisided
platforms. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
Zhang, Y. C. (2020). Matchmakers and Markets: The Revolutionary Role of Information in
the Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ezrachi A., & Stucke M. (2016). Virtual Competition. The Promise and Perils of the
Algorithm-Driven Economy. Boston: Harvard University Press 2016.
OECD (2022). OECD Handbook on Competition Policies in the Digital Era.
https://www.oecd.org/daf/competition/oecd-handbook-on-competition-policy-in-the-digitalage.pdf
Stucke M., Grunes A. Big data and Competition Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wu T. (2018). The curse of bigness: Antitrust in the new gilded age. New York: Columbia
Global Reports.
OCSE (2018). Rethinking Antitrust Tools for multiside platforms.
www.oecd.org
Barrett PM. (2020). Who moderates the social media giants? New York University – Center
for Business and Human Rights
MT 5. Intangible capital, innovation, and the knowledge economy
Basic suggested references
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Haskel, J., & Westlake, S. (2017). Capitalism without capital. Princeton (NJ): Princeton
University Press.
Beniger, James R. 1986. The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the
Information Society. Harvard University Press.
Corrado, CA., Hulten C., Sichel D. (2009). Intangible Capital and US Economic Growth.
Review of Income and Wealth, 55(3), 661-685
Corrado, CA., Haskel J, Jona- Lasinio C, and Iommi M. (2013). Innovation and Intangible
Investment in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Oxford Review of Economic Policy 29
(2): 261– 86.
Corrado, CA., Haskel J, Jona- Lasinio C, and Iommi M.. 2016. “Intangible Investment in the
EU and US before and since the Great Recession and Its Contribution to Productivity
Growth.” European Investment Bank, EIB Working Paper, No. 2016/08.
Corrado, CA., and Hulten CR Hulten. (2010). “How Do You Measure a ‘Technological
Revolution’?” American Economic Review 100 (2): 99– 104.
Edgerton, D. (2011). Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History since 1900. Profile
Books.
Piketty, T. 2014. Capital in the Twenty- First Century. Harvard University Press.
Awano, G., M. Franklin, J. Haskel, and Z. Kastrinaki. 2010. “Measuring Investment in
Intangible Assets in the UK: Results from a New Survey. Economic & Labour Market
Review 4 (7): 66– 71.
Marrano G, Mauro, Haskel J and Wallis G. (2009). “What Happened to the Knowledge
Economy? ICT, Intangible Investment and Britain’s Productivity Record Revisited.” Review
of Income and Wealth 55 (3): 686– 716.
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Goodridge, P.R., and Haskel J. (2016). “Big Data in UK Industries: An Intangible Investment
Approach.” Imperial College Business School.
Håkanson, Ch, Lindqvist E, and Vlachos J. (2015). Firms and Skills: The Evolution of
Worker Sorting. IFAU— Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy,
Working Paper, No. 2015:9
Hulten C. 2010. “Decoding Microsoft: Intangible Capital as a Source of Company Growth.”
NBER, Working Paper. No. 15799. doi:10.3386/ w15799.
Lev, B. 2001. Intangibles. New York: Brookings Institution Press.
Kaplan RS, Norton DP. (2004) Strategy maps: Converting intangible assets into tangible
outcomes. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing
Hubbard DW. (2014). How to measure anything: Finding the value of intangibles in business.
New York: Wiley
MT.6. The Digital Transition
Basic suggested references
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World Economic Forum. (2015) Digital Transformation Report.
https://reports.weforum.org/digital-transformation/digital-platforms-ecosystems/
OECD Digital. https://www.oecd.org/digital/
OECD (2019). Measuring the digital transformation. A Roadmap for the future. Published on
March 11, 2019
European Commission (2021). 2030 Digital Compass: the European way for a Digital
Decade. Communication from the Commission to the European Parlament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Brussels,
9.3.2021
Ministro per l’Innovazione Tecnologica e la Transizione Digitale. Strategia Italiana per la
Banda Ultralarga “Verso la Global Society”. Roma, 25.05.2021
Ministro per l’Innovazione Tecnologica e la Transizione Digitale. Piano “Italia a 1 Giga”.
Roma, 06.08.2021
Ministro per l’Innovazione Tecnologica e la Transizione Digitale. Piano “Italia 5G”. Roma,
15.11.2021
Ministro per l’Innovazione Tecnologica e la Transizione Digitale. Strategia Cloud Italia.
Roma, 07.09.2021
European Commission (2020). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council on European Data Governance (Data Governance Act). Brussels, 25.11.2020
European Commission (2022). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council on harmonized rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act). Brussels,
23.2.2022
European Commission (2020). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending
Directive 2000/31/EC. Brussels, 15.12.2020
European Commission (2020). Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act).
Brussels, 15.12.2020
Osservatorio Agenda Digitale. Il digitale per la ripresa e la resilienza: connecting the dots.
Milano: Politecnico, Febbraio 2022
Osservatorio Agenda Digitale. Abilitare l’Italia digitale: la buona regia per ripartire. Milano:
Politecnico, 2020
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Osservatori Digital Innovation. Le infografiche 2021: i numeri chiave dell’innovazione
digitale. Milano: Politecnio, 2021
Osservatorio Agenda Digitale. Il posizionamento dell’Italia e delle sue regioni sul DESI 2020.
Milano: Politecnico, 2020
MT.7 Digital Literacy and Digital Divides
Basic suggested references
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OECD (2021). 21st-Century Readers Developing Literacy Skills in a Digital World.
Published on May 04, 2021
Glister P. (1997). Digital literacy. New York: Wiley.
Andreasson KJ. (2015). Digital divides: the new challenges and opportunities of e-inclusion.
New York: Routledge
Carretero Gomez, S., Vuorikari, R. and Punie, Y. (2017). DigComp 2.1: The Digital
Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use.
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
United Nations Children’s Fund and International Telecommunication Union, “How many
children and young people have internet access at home? Estimating digital connectivity
during the COVID-19 pandemic.” UNICEF, New York, 2020.
Ong, W.J. (2002). Orality and literacy. The technologizing of the word. London, New York,
NY: Routledge.
Buckingham, D. (2006). Media education. Literacy, learning and contemporary culture.
Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Veen, W., & Vrakking, B. (2006). Homo zappiens, growing up in a digital age. London:
Network Continuum Ed.
Gardner, H. (1999). The disciplined mind. What all students should understand. New York:
Simon & Schuster.
MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning Initiative. Chicago, IL: MacArthur
Foundation. https://www.macfound.org/programs/learning/
Ito M. et al. (2010). Hanging out, Messing around, and Geeking out. Kids living and learning.
with new media, MIT Press, Cambridge MA.
Kubey R. (ed.) 2001: Media Literacy in the Information Age, Transaction, NewBrunswick
NJ.
MT.8 Disinformation: Merchants of truth
Basic suggested references
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Abramson, J. (2020). Merchants of Truth: the business of news and the fight for facts. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
Cagé, J. (2016). Saving the media: Capitalism, crowdfunding, and democracy. Boston:
Harvard University Press.
UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (2019). Disinformation and fake news.
Final Report.
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sportcommittee/news/103668/disinformation-and-fake-news-final-report-published/
Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious minds: Why we believe conspiracy theories. London:
Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Sunstein, C. R. (2018). #Republic: Divided democracy in the age of social media. Princeton
(NJ): Princeton University Press.
Seife C. (2014). Virtual unreality: just because the Internet told you, how do you know it's
true? New York: Viking.
Nichols T.M. (2017). The death of expertise : the campaign against established knowledge
and why it matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kakutani M. (2018). The death of truth. London: William Collins.
Shaffer K. (2019). Data versus democracy: How big data algorithms shape opinions and alter
the course of history. New York: Apress.
MT.9 The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Basic suggested references
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Floridi L. (2014). The 4th revolution: how the infosphere is reshaping human reality. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Harari Y.N. (2018). 21 lessons for the 21st century. New York: Spiegel & Grau.
André JC. (2019). Industry 4. 0. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Schwab K. (2016). The fourth industrial revolution. Cologny: World Economic Forum
MT.10 The origins of the modern communication society
Basic suggested references
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Thompson, J.B. (1995). The media and the modernity. A social theory of the media.
Cambrdige: Polity Press.
Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the screen. Identity in the age of Internet. New York: Simon &
Schuster.
Benedikt, M. (1991). Cyberspace: First steps. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Castells, M. (2013). Communication power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rogers, E.M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations. New York, NY: The Free Press.
McLuhan, M. (2001). Understanding media. The extensions of man. London, New York, NY:
Routledge.
Fidler, R. (1997). Mediamorphosis. Understanding new media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine
Forge Press.
Crystal, D. (2001). Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Griswold, W. (1994). Cultures and societies in a changing world. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine
Forge.
Meyrowitz, J. (1985). No sense of place. New York: Oxford University Press.
Caron, A.H., & Caronia, L. (2007). Moving cultures. Mobile communication in everyday life.
Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queens University Press.
Bolter, J.D., & Grusin, R. (1999). Remediation. Understanding new media. Cambridge, MA:
Mit Press.
Lessig, L. (2004). Free culture: How big media uses technology and the law to lock down
culture and control creativity. New York: Penguin Press.
MT.11. The evolution of artificial intelligence
Basic suggested references
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Pratt V. (1987). Thinking machines: the evolution of artificial intelligence. New York, NY,
USA: Blackwell.
Boden MA. (2006). Mind as a machine: A history of cognitive sciences. Oxford: Oxford
University Press
Russell S., Norvig P. (2013). Artificial intelligence: A modern approach. London: Pearson
Frankish K., Ramsey W. (Eds.) (2013). Cambridge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The second machine age: Work, progress, and
prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies. New York: WW Norton & Company.
McAfee A., Brynjolfsson E. (2017). Machine, platform, crowd: harnessing our digital future.
New York: Norton
Ryszard SM, Carbonell JG, Mitchell TM (2013). Machine learning: an artificial intelligence
approach. New York: Springer
MT.12. Deep Learning
Basic suggested references
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LeCun Y, Bengio Y, Hinton GE. (2015). Deep Learning. Nature, 521: 436-44
Silver D, Hassabis D et al. (2017). Mastering the game of Go without human knowledge.
Nature 550: 354-9
Mnih V, Hassabis D. et al. (2015). Human-level control through deep reinforcement learning.
Nature, 518: 529-33
Zhao H, Yang G, Wang D, Lu H. (2014). Deep mutual learning for visual object tracking.
Pattern Recognition, 2012, 107796