My research combines quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand inequalities in education and gender economics, and to identify effective public policies that can reduce them. I apply causal inference approaches in policy evaluation, including experimental methods and natural experiment settings, and complement them with qualitative analyses of laws, policies, and stakeholder perspectives.
Collaborating with other researchers, I focus on inequalities in secondary and tertiary education, on gender gaps in economic outcomes, and on the mechanisms through which socioeconomic conditions and social norms contribute to the transmission of inequalities across generations. My work often involves the analysis of large administrative datasets on students (and households -- work in progress!) at different stages of life, which I integrate with additional sources to provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities within educational systems and labor markets.
Working Papers & Ongoing Projects
Work in progress
[1] How Gender Norms Shape Educational Achievement: A Causal Analysis Through Peer Influence (with Rattini, V.) [JMP]
Abstract: This paper studies how gender norms transmitted through peer environments shape students' educational choices. Using longitudinal administrative data on five cohorts of students and an instrumental variable strategy based on excluded peers, we identify the causal effect of exposure to classmates whose mothers work in gender-segregated occupations. We find that exposure to peers with mothers employed in male-segregated occupations increases enrollment in academically demanding high school tracks and improves literacy performance, with no corresponding effect on mathematics performance. In contrast, exposure to peers with mothers in female-segregated occupations reduces academic achievement in both mathematics and literacy and lowers enrollment in more ambitious academic pathways, with an effect more than double the magnitude of the corresponding positive effect for male-segregated occupations. These effects are present for both female and male students, and are not driven by classroom gender composition. The findings suggest that peer environments play an important role in the transmission of gender norms and their persistence. A natural policy implication is that structured career talks in schools may help increase the enrollment in academically demanding track enrollment.
[2] Driving Integration and Influence: Policy Diffusion, Entrepreneurship, and Europe's Soft Power through European University Alliances (with Cino Pagliarello, M., and Gunn, A.) — Revise & Resubmit, European Policy Analysis
[3] On the Impact of High School on Academic Performance (ongoing, with Bonacini, L., and Pignataro, G.)
[4] University Students in Pandemic Times (ongoing, with Bonacini, L., and Pignataro, G.)
[5] The Effect of Anticipating Performance Requirements in Need-based Grants: A Natural Experiment (ongoing, with Bonacini, L., and Pignataro, G.)
Completed projects
[1] Gender Differences in Motivation and Academic Performance — AEA RCT Registry AEARCTR-0011431 (2023, with Bernhofer, J., Bonacini, L., and Pignataro, G.)
For a list of selected research projects and publications, please see my CV.