Research
Working papers
The International Transmission of Democratic Values: Evidence from African Migration to Europe
with J. Ponticelli and A. Tesei, October 2026
Emigration and Long-Run Economic Development: Evidence from the Italian Mass Migration
with N. Fontana, G. Russo and M. Tabellini, August 2026
Broadband Connectivity, Remote Work, and Labor Supply Choices
with B. Petrongolo, March 2026
Work in progress
Work, Workplaces and Worker Mental Health
with M. Fjællegaard Jensen, B. Petrongolo and R. Zhu
The Politics and Economics of Government Aid
with T. Colussi, G. Lecce and M. Onorato
Selected publications
Mobile Internet and the Rise of Communitarian Politics
with G. Tabellini and A. Tesei
Review of Economic Studies, forthcoming
Liberation Technology: Mobile Phones and Political Mobilization in Africa
with A. Tesei
Econometrica, 88(2): 533–567, 2020
Summaries: VoxEU, CentrePiece
Media: Deutsche Welle, Universo Online, Atlantico
Politics in the Family: Nepotism and the Hiring Decisions of Italian Firms
with S. Gagliarducci
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12(2): 67–95, 2020
Media: AEA Research Highlights, Le Monde, Il Sole 24 Ore, Radio 24, ANSA, Il Mattino, Lettera 43
Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Social Security and Program Administrative Data
with V. Amarante, E. Miguel and A. Vigorito
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8(2): 1–43, 2016
Media: La Diaria
Violence and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Homicides in Brazil
with M. Koppensteiner
Journal of Development Economics, 119: 16–33, 2016
Summary: VoxEU
Media: Correio Braziliense
The Cost of Grade Retention
Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(2): 596–606, 2012
Media: La Nación, Nada es Gratis
School Proximity and Child Labor: Evidence from Rural Tanzania
with F. Kondylis
Journal of Human Resources, 47(1): 32–63, 2012
The Impact of Immigration on the Structure of Wages: Theory and Evidence from Britain
with A. Manning and J. Wadsworth
Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(1): 120–151, 2012
With comments by D. Card, C. Dustmann and I. Preston, and G. Borjas, J. Grogger and G. H. Hanson
Featured in: Migration Advisory Committee, EEA migration in the UK (2018)
Summary: CentrePiece
Media: The Economist, Financial Times, LSE Business Review, Les Echos
Government Transfers and Political Support
with E. Miguel and A. Vigorito
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(3): 1–28, 2011
Industrial Structure and Child Labor: Evidence from the Brazilian Population Census
with F. C. Rosati
Economic Development and Cultural Change, 59(4): 753–776, 2011
Minimum Wages and Earnings Inequality in Urban Mexico
with M. Bosch
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(4): 128–149, 2010
Summary: VoxLACEA
Media: Horizontal
Changes in Returns to Education in Latin America: The Role of Demand and Supply of Skills
with C. Sánchez-Páramo and N. Schady
Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 63(2): 307–326, 2010
Giving Children a Better Start: Preschool Attendance and School-Age Profiles
with S. Berlinski and S. Galiani
Journal of Public Economics, 92(5): 1416–1440, 2008
Child Labor and the Labor Supply of Other Household Members: Evidence from 1920 America
American Economic Review, 96(5): 1788–1801, 2006
Summary: CentrePiece
Why Do Most Italian Youths Live with Their Parents? Intergenerational Transfers and Household Structure
with E. Moretti
Journal of the European Economic Association, 4(4): 800–829, 2006
Summary: CentrePiece
Media: The Guardian (1, 2), The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, TIME, TIME Europe, Die Welt, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica (1, 2), Il Messaggero, lavoce.info, Hürriyet, Metro
Can the Scala Mobile Explain the Fall and Rise of Earnings Inequality in Italy? A Semiparametric Analysis, 1977–1993
Journal of Labor Economics, 22(3): 585–613, 2004