PhD in Economics

Ennio Piano, 2019

Ennio Piano

Ennio Piano is an economics doctoral student at George Mason University. He earned his undergraduate degree in contemporary history from University of Siena, Italy and studied political economy at King’s College in London. Piano selected George Mason’s Economics program because Mason’s program provided the best conditions for students to be successful.

While studying at George Mason, Piano has taken advantage of the various opportunities available to Mason students. His passion for research allowed him to focus on his research interests since he began the program. Piano began writing his first paper during his first semester enrolled in the PhD program. He has been a research assistant and teaching assistant for two years. He has authored and co-authored various papers with faculty, former Mason students, and his peers. His research paper topics include the history of economic thought, economics of development and economics of motorcycle gangs.

Piano credits the availability of opportunities to the culture at Mason. He found that the intellectual community at Mason allows for the open discussion of ideas, contribution of feedback and the willingness to help others. Piano has particularly enjoyed the weekly economic graduate seminars where students present papers for peer-review. His relationships with the faculty on campus allowed him to have mentorship and guidance on career paths as well as work closely with faculty to receive extensive feedback to improve academic papers.

After the completion of his PhD, Piano plans to continue his research through a career in academia. He wants to make a contribution to advancing the understanding of economics.