Publications

Does religion affect the gender gap? Using data on inquisition trials to locate medieval Waldensian communities in the Italian municipalities of Piedmont and early 19th-century female literacy rates, we find that municipalities with a history of Waldensian presence display lower levels of the education gender gap, a pattern that persists to the present day. Moreover, women in these municipalities have higher levels of education, greater labor market participation, and increased political representation. Our results highlight the importance of cultural and social norms in shaping women’s empowerment and gender equality outcomes.


The consequences of successful public health interventions for social violence and conflict are largely unknown. This paper closes this gap by evaluating the effect of a major health intervention – the successful expansion of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic – in Africa. To identify the effect, we combine exogenous variation in the scope for treatment and global variation in drug prices. We find that the ART expansion significantly reduced the number of violent events in African countries and sub-national regions. The effect pertains to social violence and unrest, not civil war. The evidence also shows that the effect is not explained by general improvements in economic prosperity, but related to health improvements, greater approval of government policy, and increased trust in political institutions. Results of a counterfactual simulation reveal the largest potential gains in countries with intermediate HIV prevalence where disease control has been given relatively low priority.


In this paper, we explore the impact of the 2007 European Union enlargement on the mental health of documented immigrants. Using data from a unique Italian administrative data set and employing a difference-in-differences individual fixed effect estimator, we find that the enlargement causes a significant improvement in the mental health of young male immigrants. To shed light on the mechanisms behind these results, we use data from a unique survey and show that the enlargement mitigates sources of health concerns and increases income and employment stability through permanent job contracts for young male immigrants. Overall, these findings suggest that enhanced labor market conditions due to enlargement may lead to a subsequent important decrease in psychological distress among immigrants.

Working Papers


Can major health interventions promote women's empowerment? Focusing on rural Malawi, I study the effect of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic on women's empowerment. To identify the effect, I use the ART roll-out campaign launched by the Malawian government in 2004. I calculate an index based on the scope and accessibility of treatment to measure the benefit of ART to rural communities. Women in communities that benefited the most from the treatment, in terms of the number of beneficiaries and access, experienced increased decision-making indicators and decreased justification and experience of physical violence. The rise in women's empowerment can be explained by the positive effects of health improvement on economic empowerment and human capital formation. This paper advocates for the central role of health interventions in future women's empowerment campaigns.