Publications
Concentration and Mergers: Evidence from Italian Labor Markets. Oxford Economic Papers, December 2024. [WP]
Monopsony and Rent Sharing: Evidence from Italian Hiring Subsidies, with Lia Pacelli. Economics Letters, October 2024. [WP]
Employment Protection, Workforce Mix and Firm Performance, with Chiara Ardito, Fabio Berton and Lia Pacelli. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, June 2022. [WP]
Working Papers
Do Alternative Work Arrangements Substitute Standard Employment? Evidence from Worker-Level Data, with Bernardo Fanfani. R&R at International Journal of Manpower, December 2024. [WP][LAVOCE]
Inverting the Chain? VAT Collection Regimes and Tax Compliance, with Davide Cipullo, Duccio Gamannossi Degl'Innocenti, and Marco Le Moglie. [WP]
Ongoing
Negative Emotions and the Sex Market; Evidence from Market Transactions and Football Matches, with Riccardo Ciacci, Alessandro Corvasce, and Davide Dragone.
Abstract We study the impact of emotional responses to professional football match outcomes on transactions and prices in the commercial sex market. Our findings indicate that football matches lead to an increase in sex work activity while prices and durations decrease. We decompose this effect into two components: the pure game effect and the emotional channel, observing substantial heterogeneity depending on the different emotions of home and away fans. We then develop a model to rationalize all the possible channels through which emotions affect demand for market sex.
The Effect of High-Speed Railways (HSR) on University Student Enrollments, with Massimiliano Bratti and Enrico Lippo.
Abstract This study examines how high-speed railways (HSR) influence university student mobility in Italy. By reducing travel times, new HSR routes improve connectivity between students’ homes and higher education institutions (HEIs), affecting enrollment choices. Using a gravity model and a difference-in-differences approach, we estimate the impact of the new HSR station in Reggio Emilia on student flows using administrative data from ANS to provide insights into enrollment patterns. Findings inform policies on education and regional development, highlighting the role of transportation in shaping academic opportunities.
Is Temporary Work a Safety Risk? Analyzing the Impact on Workplace Accidents, with Lorenzo Navarini and Roberto Nisticò.
Abstract This paper investigates the impact of temporary employment on work-related injuries. We leverage a 2018 Italian labor market reform that restricted temporary employment and adopt a Difference-in-Differences approach combined with a synthetic control method to address endogeneity concerns. Using granular administrative data on injuries and employment contracts, our results show no significant overall effect of the reform on injuries but reveal reductions in mild injuries, among high-risk individuals, such as men and foreign workers, and in highly concentrated local labor markets. The investigation of the potential mechanisms indicates that improved working conditions, not reporting biases, drive the reductions. Overall, our findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize enhancing working conditions over focusing solely on contract types to effectively reduce workplace accidents.
Workplace Accidents and Alternative Work Arrangements, with Giovanni Mastrobuoni and Roberto Nisticò.
Abstract This study estimates the effect of extremely flexible labor market contracts (labor vouchers) on work-related injuries. We use administrative microdata on work injuries (INAIL) for the Tuscany region, leveraging the introduction of vouchers for the agricultural sector in 2008. Serious work-related injuries increase when more flexible labor contracts become available. We also exploit several other data sources to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Preliminary results suggest that the effect is driven by injuries of undeclared workers who sign vouchers right after the injury, in a last minute attempt to gain insurance coverage. Our findings are in line with those of Di Porto et al. (2022), who find that firms use vouchers to cover undeclared work.
Breaking Barriers to Secure a Training Contract, with Fabio Berton and Daniela Sonedda.
Abstract We study agglomeration economies and knowledge spillovers as a route to long-term jobs started with training contracts. We break down macro-areas into quartiles of the number of active firms and the PISA maths test scores. Within these areas, we compare workers aged 29, who can be hired as apprentices, with those aged 30 who cannot, before and after a 2012 reform. We find that many firms close to each other help start open-ended jobs as apprentices because of lower transfer costs from and to firms. Yet, areas with many firms do not have more advantages in long-term jobs than others. A training contract to build long-term careers needs knowledge spillovers.
Scaling Up: Small Firms’ Strategic Choices, with Agata Maida and Daniela Sonedda.
Abstract In this paper, we analyze the impact of small firm scaling on various measures of productivity and profitability using employer-employee administrative data from the Italian regions of Piedmont and Veneto matched with firm-level information. To address endogeneity concerns, we employ an instrumental variable approach, leveraging the Fornero apprenticeship reform introduced in 2012. This reform established a mentoring scheme for apprentices and imposed sanctions on firms that failed to convert a specified percentage of apprentices into permanent employees based on their pre-reform size. We exploit the exogenous thresholds set by the reform, which are linked to small firms' growth. A short-term analysis indicates that small firm scaling is associated with increased hiring and a rise in apprenticeship contracts. This expansion also leads to a less proportional increase in value added, revenues, and capital. No significant impact on operational measures such as ROE and ROA is found. This suggests no major changes in cost-saving strategies.
"Stay Away from Me": Femicides and College Choices, with Massimiliano Bratti and Enrico Lippo.
Others
Promoting Health and Wellness: A Survey on Corporate Wellness Practices in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, with Dragone, Barbieri, and Scrutinio. [link]
Per ogni fine c'è un nuovo inizio, with Carlo Amenta and Carlo Stagnaro. [WP]
Directionality of spillovers in the EMU: Evidence from the EU sovereign debt Crisis, with Pietro Bombrezzi. 9th Giorgio Rota Best Paper Award. Published on the Quaderni del Premio «Giorgio Rota», n. 9, 2021 ISBN 978-88-94960-19-8. [SLIDES] [LAVOCE.INFO]
Voucher: uso e contestualizzazione alla luce del Covid-19, with Conte, Cavallotti, Inferrera, Navarini e Zufacchi. 2020, Working Paper, No 8. [WP]