About me

I am an economist whose research lies at the intersection of development economics and political economy. I study how individuals and societies respond to economic and social change, with a particular interest in migration, human capital, diversity, and social cohesion.

My research has examined investment decisions in education, health, migration, technology adoption, labor supply, and social networks, with a particular focus on developing countries. More recently, I have been working on the political economy of immigration, integration, and cultural diversity, investigating how demographic change shapes attitudes, institutions, and economic outcomes.

Depending on the research question, I combine a variety of data sources and empirical methods, including original survey data, historical and administrative records, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

I have been the principal investigator of projects funded by the World Bank, 3ie, IGC, the Italian Agency for Development & Cooperation and Fondazione Cariplo.

I hold a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences (DES) from Bocconi University in Milan. Before graduate studies, I spent a year in Latin America, studying at the PUC in Santiago de Chile and working at ECLAC. After graduating, I worked for a year in the international development cooperation sector, managing projects in the Eastern Balkans and Central America. I then obtained a Master degree in Development Economics from the University of Sussex (UK) and a PhD in Economics from the University of Milan. I have been a visiting scholar at the European University Institute (RSC), the Department of Economics at NYU in the US and the Tinbergen Institute in Amsterdam. I have worked as a consultant for various international organisations (e.g. WB, UNDP, FAO, etc.) and national governments (mainly in the EU and Africa).

I was born and raised in Milan, but my family comes from the south of Italy. I spent my childhood travelling between northern and southern Italy. I used to observe very carefully how the landscape, norms and habits changed as I travelled, and how my grandparents had managed to give my parents life chances that were very different from their own. It was then, I believe, that I began to develop some of the questions that are still at the heart of my research today.

Advice to young economists (by Angus Deaton)