University of Palermo, Professor Miranda Cuffaro has passed away: “We will remember her for her great dedication”

Last Updated: March 18, 2024

Università di Palermo, è morta la professoressa Miranda Cuffaro: «La ricorderemo per la sua grande dedizione»

Professor Miranda Cuffaro, full professor of Economic Statistics at the University of Palermo, passed away at the age of 73. Her colleagues and friends describe her as a woman with great human and professional qualities. Many are sharing their grief on social media for her loss. The university also expressed their deepest condolences for her passing, highlighting her generosity, intelligence, dedication to teaching and research, and deep loyalty in human relationships.

Professor Cuffaro began her research activities in 1976, after obtaining a degree in Economics and Commerce from the Faculty of Economics. She spent a period of study at the Department of Business and Economics at the University of Texas (Austin) in the early 1980s. A scholar of Economic Statistics, she was confirmed as a researcher in 1981, became an associate professor at the University of Palermo in 1992, and in 2002 became the first female full professor of Economic Statistics at the university.

Throughout her academic career, she held various institutional positions, including director of the department of National Accounting and Analysis of social processes, president of Committee 13 for research evaluation, member of the scientific council of Steneo, and coordinator of the degree course in Tourism Sciences. She taught various courses in Economic Statistics, including Economic Statistics 1 in the Statistics for Data Analysis program until her retirement in 2020.

Her scientific contributions mainly focused on quantitative methods for economic analysis and covered various topics such as measuring productivity in the public sector, consumer behavior analysis, measuring development differentials between countries and regions, measuring the underground economy, analyzing and measuring well-being, measuring efficiency and productivity of tourism businesses. She published numerous scientific contributions in national and international journals, including International Statistical Review, Growth & Change, Statistical Methods & Applications, and Ecological Economics. She was a member of the Italian Statistical Society.