Economist & Statistician

Demetrio M. Bova is a post-doctoral researcher in Economics and Finance at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, a Statistics lecturer at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, and a consultant for NeXt - Nuova economia per tutti.

His work centres on sustainable development policies and indicators, combining economic analysis, statistical methods, and computational tools to guide evidence-based decision-making.

Among other achievements, he co-developed the Sufficient Conditions statistical technique, the Common Human Development Index, the concept of excess competition as a market failure, and the Network Basket Loan.

I thank all, academicians and non, who have accompanied him in his work and research

Demetrio M. Bova

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Affiliations

University of Rome Tor Vergata, faculty of economics and finance
Salesian University (Rome), faculty of Sciences of Education

Previously affiliated with: Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) (2023), University of Venice Ca' Foscari (2023), University of Florence (2022-2023), University of Warsaw (2018-2022)

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Works and Blog

The COMMON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

The Common Human Development Index (CHDI) redefines how we measure human progress by adding the social pillar.
While the traditional Human Development Index (HDI) focuses on income, health, and education, the CHDI introduces a missing fourth pillar — the social pillar — and the role of sense of community, showing that social belonging is not a luxury, but a foundation of happiness.

Using data from more than 5,000 Italian residents, our study demonstrates that individuals who feel part of a community report significantly higher life satisfaction, even after controlling for income, health, and education. In fact, the sense of community alone predicts happiness as well as the entire HDI, and when added to it, creates a more powerful model of development — one that explains both material and relational wellbeing

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Bova_ECVA2025_Presentation final.pdf

DO characters matter for economic performances?

The “Manifesto of Economic Renaissance” urges us to design an economy grounded in virtues—specifically, the cultivation of good character—as the foundation for achieving the common good. But does good character really lead to better economic performance? At the ECVA 2025 international conference in Vienna, I presented “Educating Characters for Economic Performances,” offering a microeconomic model in which agents with either generative or extractive characters produce markedly different macroeconomic outcomes… and the answer is yes! Cultivating good character—in the sense of “meritogenesis,” or the “homo meritorious” guided by the pursuit of merit according to one’s character rather than by impulses—boosts aggregate performance. Consequently, fostering good character that seeks merit and is generative is itself an economic policy. We must abandon the panacea of preference neutrality and rebuild a generative ethos, restoring human dignity and quality!

Bova 5 giugno Recycled material consortia.pdf

Shifting Paradigms in the Circular Economy: When Cooperation Prevails Over Competition

Drawing on the remarkable achievements of Comieco—a consortium that, over 30 years, has made Italy a world-class leader in paper and packaging recycling—we developed a model to show when a network’s membership reaches a critical mass and becomes a self-reinforcing “centre of gravity,” spawning a new paradigm. Achieving this circular-economy paradigm requires a sufficient initial push: at the 2025 Renaissance Economy Conference in Florence, I held that if this push exceeds the “Big Bang” threshold, the consortium becomes fully autonomous and no longer needs public support. If the push falls short, however, it’s more efficient to allocate resources elsewhere.

Bova 6 giugno green jobs a Roma_Inglese.pdf

Green Jobs: What They Are—and the Situation in Rome

Contemporary development must stand against all forms of abuse—whether of people or the environment—and so we ask: how can we contribute to equitable, sustainable growth, and which occupations drive it? A job is “green” if, by its very nature and the skills it requires, it advances sustainable development. At the 2025 International Renaissance Economy Conference in Florence, I presented an in-depth study of Green Jobs in Rome, deploying innovative statistical tools—most notably a virtual assembly of AI agents—to help the city chart its path toward truly sustainable growth. The attached slides walk you through our definitions, methodology, and key findings for Roma Capitale’s emerging green labor market.

What if market competition entails market failure?

What if market competition itself seeds market failure? In writing the paper “Win Together or Lose Alone: Circular Economy and Hybrid Governance for Natural Resource Commons,” that provocative question guided my exploration. The journey begins with the classic tragedy of the commons and the challenges of implementing circular-economy principles. Using a game-theoretic model, I demonstrate how unfettered competition among users of a natural-resource commons predictably leads to over-extraction, resource collapse, and collective loss. Traditional remedies—Pigouvian taxes, standards, property-rights assignments, and other classic economic policies—often produce unwanted side effects or prove insufficient. Instead, we propose employing networks of contractual agreements to alleviate competitive pressure and bind agents by contract to safeguard the common good.

I extend my deepest gratitude to Leonardo Becchetti and NeXt Nuova Economia for their invaluable collaboration, insightful guidance, and unwavering support.

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