Research

       On-Going Projects 

• The Impact of Scheduled Breaks and Cyberloafing on Productivity: Evidence from a Continuous-Time Real-Effort Experiment, with Corazzini L., Fisar M., Larocca V.  Working paper (draft) available [PDF] . 

Abstract

This paper examines how scheduled breaks and access to online browsing affect productivity in cognitively demanding tasks. A continuous-time real-effort experiment was conducted with 271 participants, generating over 57,000 second-by-second observations of productivity dynamics. The findings reveal that delaying structured recovery and restricting access to online browsing during the task phase is associated with lower performance from the very beginning of the task, rather than only after fatigue has accumulated. This immediate gap suggests that breaks matter not only as recovery devices, but also because their anticipated availability shapes effort allocation from the outset.

Furthermore, scheduled breaks sustain productivity over time. When combined with internet access, they reduce unscheduled browsing, suggesting that structured relief can reduce, rather than amplify, digital distraction. Exploratory moderation analyses do not reveal a systematic pattern of heterogeneous treatment effects across self-control, grit, and personality traits. The findings challenge a purely restrictive view of digital productivity: banning online access without offering structured recovery opportunities may be less effective than designing well-timed scheduled breaks that help sustain performance in cognitively demanding digital work environments.

• Sense of Responsibility and Collective Action, with G. Andrighetto, S.Gil-Gallen, A. Guerra, E.Vriens. Available here. Submitted!

Abstract

Climate change and biodiversity loss increasingly require ecological restoration alongside traditional conservation efforts. We study how individuals respond to this challenge in a laboratory experiment linking two stages of environmental decision-making: a continuous-time extraction phase, in which participants cut trees from a shared forest, followed by a restoration phase modeled as a linear Public Goods Game. We assess whether prior extraction shapes willingness to restore, whether restoration differs when damage is caused by one’s own group rather than by another group, and whether revealing pluralistic ignorance about perceived responsibility affects restoration decisions. To address these research questions, we implemented a between-subjects design with four conditions: whether participants take part in both stages (Baseline) or only one (Only Extraction, Only Restoration), and whether they receive an inter-phase message disclosing the existence of misperception on others' sense of responsibility (Responsibility condition). We find no evidence of behavioral lock-in, and restoration does not differ when performed by a group different from the one responsible for extraction. Disclosing the existence of a misperception yields no significant average effect, yet masks heterogeneous responses in opposite directions: (i) cooperators who extract relatively less than other group members, increase their restoration when they learn that others feel more responsible than expected; and (ii) non-cooperators who extract relatively more than other group members, reduce their contributions after receiving the same information.

•  Functional Diversification and Social Capital in Organised Crime: Evidence from a Peripheral Region, with Deriu R., Dettori M.D., Pulina M. Full draft available upon request. 

Abstract

This paper examines the strategic diversification of organised crime groups (OCGs) within a pivotal peripheral region of growing strategic importance in the international drug trade. Building on rational choice and socio-economic theories, this study explores how OCGs appear to shift from a violent to a more entrepreneurial model in relation to social capital and institutional contexts. Using qualitative analysis of judicial documents and media reports corroborated by ministerial sources, the chapter provides an interpretive account of this hidden phenomenon. Social capital, disentangled into bonding, bridging, linking and symbolic dimensions, emerges as a central analytical lens for understanding lower detection risks and market adaptation. The findings suggest that strong bonding capital is associated with internal logistics, while bridging and linking capital appear linked to intergroup cooperation and access to illicit markets. Symbolic capital reflects reputational and trust-based mechanisms that may substitute for formal legal contracts. Overall, the conceptual framework elicited from the qualitative analysis offers an interpretive account of how criminal organisations appear to adapt in peripheral contexts by adjusting profit-maximisation strategies to local market conditions.

• Do Cooperative Narratives Shape Prosocial Behavior? with Corazzini L., Fisar M. and Larocca V.

     Working Papers

• Dynamics and trends of drug dealing: a local labour system perspective, with M. Pulina (2024)

Abstract

This study provides a dynamic analysis of illegal drug trafficking in the Italian region of Sardinia, using the Local Labour Systems (LLS, ISTAT) framework. Data from major regional newspapers (January 2017- De-cember 2022) were validated through institutional reports. A multivariate biplot analysis reveals an increase in drug seizures and the Island’s role as a hub for national and international drug trade, facilitated by local and traditional mafia organizations. Related crimes are also infiltrating the le-gal economy, particularly in the coastal real estate market. This study high-lights the urgent need for targeted institutional and community strategies to protect younger people, who are increasingly involved in trafficking.