Alessandro Toso (they/them)

Welcome! 

I'm Alessandro Toso, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of Siena (Italy), currently in the final stage of my dissertation. My work lies at the captivating intersection of social economics, gender studies, and public health.

After completing a Master's in International Cooperation Policies for Development at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Milan, my doctoral journey has been a multidisciplinary exploration into the connections between economic and health systems and individual well-being. I'm particularly interested in the dynamics of social capital, subjective happiness, mental health, and substance use.

In recent years, I've developed a broad research profile across several fields.

• From 2019 to 2022, I worked as a research analyst in geoeconomics at the Italy China Council Foundation (Milan), where I gained a solid grounding in macroeconomic dynamics, globalization, and trade flows. I was part of the first Italian research team to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on bilateral trade between Italy and China.

• Fieldwork has always played a central role in my research. I've conducted surveys and interviews in working-class neighborhoods of Milan, several Italian prisons, and marginalized districts of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. During the latter, I built a dataset of over 500 entries in a three-month study focused on mental health in vulnerable populations.

• I have completed two recent visiting periods at the European Union Drug Agency (EUDA) in Lisbon (Sept-Dec 2023) and the Doctoral Program in Public Health at the Universidade Federal do Ceará in Fortaleza (Mar-Jun 2024).

Looking ahead, I'm committed to continuing this path, seeking new, integrated strategies to foster well-being and resilience among vulnerable individuals and communities. As an advocate for social inclusion, I believe that systemic approaches, rather than isolated interventions, are essential for meaningful policy design and impact.

Languages: Italian (native), fluent in English, Slovenian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Last update: July 2025