Working papers

-Labour Market Power and Aggregate Productivity

[Draft coming soon]

Abstract: Solid evidence shows that inadequate managerial practices in SMEs hamper technology adoption and growth, yet less is known about why small and relatively inefficient firms persistently survive in large numbers. This paper proposes a novel perspective based on labour market power, which can affect aggregate productivity through three channels: (i) by transferring rents from workers to firms, monopsony leads to an excessive entry of low-ability entrepreneurs; (ii) by establishing a positive wage-size relationship, it reduces the labour costs of smaller firms and induces misallocation; and (iii) by distorting the size distribution, it hinders the diffusion of intangible technologies with economies of scale. I measure wage markdowns from revenue function estimation, validate the theoretical predictions with micro data, and quantify productivity losses through a general equilibrium model. Lastly, I explore the potential of unionisation and minimum wages in mitigating these outcomes.

-Do Larger Firms Exert More Market Power? Markups and Markdowns along the Size Distribution (with M. Mertens)

[CEP Discussion Paper][VoxEU column]

-Living with Lower Productivity Growth: Impact on Exports (with F. Di Mauro, G.I.P. Ottaviano, & A. Zona-Mattioli)

[PIIE Working Paper]

Work in progress

-Quality, Quantities, and Prices: Measuring Productivity with Revenue Data

-The Pros and Cons of Market Concentration (with F. Passerini)

-The Allocative Inefficiency of Bank Credit: Evidence from European Firms

Non-academic

-Imprese e Sviluppo Economico (with G. Berlingieri). Collana 'Economia per tutti' (Corriere della Sera)

[link]

-Produttività: quel che deve sapere un ministro dello Sviluppo. Econopoly (Sole 24 Ore)

[link]

-Rilanciare la produttività, ecco la sfida chiave. Econopoly (Sole 24 Ore)

[link]

-L'inefficienza nell'allocazione del credito. Econopoly (Sole 24 Ore)

[link]