Articles in refereed Journals
"Firm hierarchy and the market for knowledge" (with M. Vatiero), 2025, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 34 (3), 714-742
"Firm Human Resource Practices and Educational Mismatch" (with G. Berloffa and D. Piazzalunga), 2026, Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, forthcoming, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-025-00383-y
"Municipal procurement, productivity and dynastic management: Evidence from Italian firms" (with M. Augliera and A. Ricci), 2025, Applied Economics, forthcoming, 1-16, https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2025.2539533
"Extended Producer Responsibility and Trade Flows in Waste: The Case of Batteries" (with M. Compagnoni, M. Grazzi and C. Tomasi), 2025, Environmental and Resource Economics, 88, 43-76.
Media coverage: [VoxEu] [in Italian: InsiDem]
"Coping with high decline: firms' resilience to adversity" (with S. Esteve-Pérez and D. Rodriguez), 2024, Small Business Economics, 63, 193-219
"Red tape and industry dynamics: a cross-country analysis" (with C. Tomasi and V. Cecco), 2023, Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, 50, 283–320
"CEO age, shareholder monitoring, and the organic growth of European firms" (with G. Barba Navaretti and D. Castellani), 2022, Small Business Economics, 59, 361- 382
"One swallow does not make a summer: Episodes and persistence in high-growth" (with S. Esteve-Pérez and D. Rodriguez), 2022, Small Business Economics, 58, 1517-1544
"From central planning towards a market economy: The role of ownership and competition in Vietnamese firms' productivity" (with Manh-Duc Le and E. Zaninotto), 2019, Journal of Comparative Economics, 47 (3), 693-716
"The determinants of corporate profitability in the Italian domestic appliances industry" (with R. Verruso), 2019, Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, 46 (1), 83-115
"Modelling the joint impact of R&D and ICT on productivity: A frontier analysis approach" (with M. Vecchi and F. Venturini), 2018, Research Policy, 47 (9), 1842-1852
"Vertical organization of production and firm growth", 2018, Industrial and Corporate Change, 27 (1), 83-106
"Age and productivity as determinants of firm survival over the industry life cycle" (with S. Esteve-Pérez and D. Rodriguez), 2018, Industry and Innovation, 25 (2), 167-198
"Product market regulation and innovation efficiency" (with C. Franco and F. Venturini), 2016, Journal of Productivity Analysis, 45 (3), 299-315
"Outward Investments and Productivity. Evidence from European Regions" (with D. Castellani), 2016, Regional Studies, 50 (12), 1945-1964
"Age and firm growth. Evidence from three European countries" (with G. Barba Navaretti and D. Castellani), 2014, Small Business Economics, 43(4), 823-837
"Technical efficiency and the vertical boundaries of the firm: theory and evidence" (with E. Zaninotto), 2013, Applied Economics Letters, 20(17), 1538-1543
"R&D offshoring and the productivity growth of European regions" (with D. Castellani), 2013, Research Policy, 42(9), 1581-1594
"Vertical integration and efficiency: an application to the Italian machine tool industry" (with E. Zaninotto), 2013, Small Business Economics, 40(2), 397-416
Book chapters
"Innovation and Survival of Spanish Manufacturing Firms"(with S. Esteve-Peréz and D. Rodríguez), 2014, in Innovation, Globalization and Firm Dynamics: Lessons for Enterprise Policy, chp. 5, ed. by A. Ferragina, E. Taymaz and K. Yilmaz, Routledge
(in Italian) "Le imprese che cambiano classe: l'Italia nel contesto europeo" (with G. Barba Navaretti and D. Castellani), 2011, in Costruire il futuro, chp. 4, ed. by G. Nardozzi and L. Paolazzi, Confindustria
"The Effect of Foreign Investments on European Regional Competitiveness" (with D. Castellani), 2010, in Business services: the new frontier of competitivess, chp.4, ed. by G. Giovannetti, P. Guerrieri and B. Quintieri, Fondazione Masi, Rubettino
(in Italian) "Investimenti diretti esteri e produttività: le regioni italiane nel contesto europeo" (with D. Castellani), 2010, in Reti di imprese e territorio tra vincoli e nuove opportunità dopo la crisi, chp. 10, ed. by A. Zazzaro, il Mulino
"Firm hierarchy and emerging technologies" (with A. Tariq and M. Vatiero), Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano Working Paper, 512/2026 (older version: September 2025, DEM Working Paper 2025/05)
Abstract: We study how investments in emerging technologies reshape firm hierarchies. Extending Garicano’s (2000) knowledge-based model, we distinguish between emerging information technologies (EIT) and robots (RT), and derive testable hypotheses on their effects on hierarchical depth and span of control, driven by changes in information costs, learning costs, and production predictability. Using longitudinal firm-level data from Italy (2014-2021), we find that EIT investments increase depth and reduce span of control relative to non-investing firms, while RT increase span of control when combined with EIT. Our layer-level analysis shows that EIT are associated with the addition of managerial and middle-management layers, whereas RT are associated with the addition of middle-management layers and the removal of top management layers; moreover, EIT reduce span of control at higher levels, while RT expand it among blue- and white-collar workers. Results are robust to alternative estimators, anticipatory-effect tests, investment switchers, common support restrictions, and alternative clustering.
"Trade liberalization, skill demand, and workforce composition: evidence from Vietnamese SMEs " (with Q.-T. Le and C. Tomasi), DEM Working Paper 2026/02
Abstract: This paper studies how trade liberalization affects firms' skill demand and workforce composition using panel data on Vietnamese manufacturing small and medium enterprises over the period 2003-2014. We exploit the sharp and externally driven reductions in output and input tariffs associated with Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization as a source of quasi-experimental variation in trade exposure. Distinguishing between output and input tariff reductions, we show that these two channels of trade liberalization have statistically significant and opposite effects on firms' workforce composition. Output tariff cuts reduce the skill ratio, consistent with specialization in labor-intensive activities, although the associated employment effects are weaker and less precisely estimated. By contrast, input tariff reductions induce an absolute skill-biased adjustment, increasing skilled employment and reducing unskilled labor. At the occupational level, input liberalization increases managerial employment and reduces production jobs, pointing to organizational changes within firms. Output liberalization is associated with a decline in managerial employment, although these estimates are less precisely estimated. These findings contribute to the literature by providing robust evidence on the distinct roles of output and input tariff reductions and by documenting how trade liberalization reshapes workforce composition across both skill groups and occupations within firms. From a policy perspective, the results highlight the importance of access to foreign inputs in fostering workforce upgrading and organizational transformation among small and medium enterprises in developing countries.
"Spending and Sharing: How Municipal Procurement Shapes the Labor Share" (with A. Ricci and C. Vittori), R&R (2nd round), DEM Working Paper 2025/04
Abstract: We examine how municipal procurement shapes firms’ labor share. Merging procurement records for Italian municipalities (2011–2018) with firm-level data, we find that larger per-capita spending modestly but significantly reduces the labor share. The decline reflects productivity gains that outpace wage growth and is confined to North-Center municipalities, where procurement spending is greatest. Public spending may favor capital unless contracts include clauses on wages, hiring, or training.
"Labor flexibility and innovation: the importance of firms’ heterogeneity" (with M. Augliera and G. Berloffa), May 2022, currently: R&R, LdA Development Studies Working Papers 481
Abstract: This work investigates the relationship between the numerical flexibility of a firm’s workforce and its innovative performance, taking into account the heterogeneity of firms and labor contracts. Using longitudinal data on Italian firms, we find that the share of temporary employees has a positive and significant effect on innovation for small and micro firms in low-tech and less knowledge-intensive sectors and a negative effect for medium and large firms in high-tech and knowledge-intensive sectors. These results suggest that managers and entrepreneurs may use temporary employment as an effective human resource practice to foster innovation in those firms whose technology or knowledge do not require vast and firm-specific investments. They also highlight possible unintended consequences of changes in the employment protection legislation for firms’ innovative performance. Functional flexibility (training policies) and wage flexibility (second-level wage bargaining scheme) are neither substitutes nor complements to numerical flexibility, suggesting that firms use numerical, functional, and wage flexibility in different combinations.
"Firm closures during COVID-19: Government support to businesses and entrepreneurial ecosystems" (with D. Iacobucci and F. Perugini), submitted
"Educational mismatch and the adoption of emerging technologies" (with L. Bisio and M. Lucchese)
"From bits to sustainability: How digital investments influence green investments in Italian firms." (with S. Montresor and F. Lelli)
"Public procurement as collateral: Effects of contract wins on firms’ access to credit" (with E. Caggiano , S. D’Addona and C. Vittori), uncompleted draft
"Bossless (high) growth" (with A. Tariq and M. Vatiero), uncompleted draft
Essays on Productivity and Efficiency Analysis, University of Trento (2010)