"Beyond the Party Push: Gender Differences in Voters' Persuasion", European Journal of Political Economy
"Does Scarcity of Female Instructors Create Demand for Diversity among Students? Evidence from Observational and Experimental Data ", with P. Funk and N. Iriberri. Labour Economics
"Gender gaps in housework activities in Europe before and after Covid-19" with M. Angelici, CESifo Economic Studies
"Let The Voters Choose Women", Journal of Public Economics, with A. Baltrunaite, A. Casarico and P. Profeta.
"Who Cares About Childcare? Covid-19 and Substantive Gender Representation", International Tax and Public Finance, with A. Marchese and P. Profeta
"It starts early! Male-dominated classes and girl’s bullying" (2024), with S. Cunningham, M.L. di Tommaso, A. Melo, S. Mendolia. (Last version will be available soon)
Violence begins early in life, and the school environment is not exempt from aggressive behaviors such as bullying. In this paper, we rely on Invalsi data to document gender differences in the self-reported likelihood of being both victims and perpetrators across various dimensions of bullying, for students in primary school. Our findings show that this phenomenon is more prevalent among male students on both sides. Additionally, we analyze the impact of gender-imbalanced classes on bullying among girls and boys. By exploiting the quasi-random allocation of students within schools and across classes, we demonstrate that girls report significantly more bullying, both as victims and perpetrators, when the proportion of male peers in the classroom increases. These results are particularly driven by psychological dimensions of bullying, including mockery, isolation, and insults, and correlate with worse well-being measures and deterioration of friendships. In summary, this evidence illustrates how violence can transmit across same-sex groups, spilling over from boys to girls as the number of boys (initially more violent) increases. These patterns are crucial for understanding the initial social interactions among young peers. Furthermore, the gender implications of these findings are highly relevant to the policy discussion on violence against women
"Gender Composition and University Climate" (2022), with P. Profeta and S. Griselda.
The university climate is an essential factor that influences students' academic outcomes and career trajectories. traditional masculinity norms, particularly prevalent in male-dominated fields, can pose substantial barriers to success, especially for female students. This paper first measures students' adherence to masculinity norms, their anxiety levels, and their confidence in their academic performance relative to peers. Second, we explore how these factors correlate with and predict academic performance and future career aspirations. Finally, leveraging the random assignment of students into different class groups within the same course at an elite university, we examine how peer gender composition influences students' masculinity norms, anxiety levels, academic confidence, and exam performance. Our findings demonstrate that increased exposure to female peers reduces adherence to traditional masculinity norms and anxiety, while enhancing students' confidence and academic outcomes.
"Beauty and the Beast: Not a happy ending! Physical Unattractiveness and Sexual Violence Perpetration" (2025), with M.L. di Tommaso, S. Mendolia, and S.Palmaccio.
Little is known about whether an individual's physical attractiveness influences the likelihood of perpetrating sexual violence. This study uses U.S. data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the relationship between perceived attractiveness and the perpetration of sexual violence against a partner. Physical attractiveness is measured using interviewer-assigned ratings of respondents between the ages of 12 and 17. The findings indicate that among men, a one-point increase in attractiveness (on a 1–5 scale) is associated with a 13 percent decrease in the likelihood of perpetrating sexual violence in adulthood. The analysis also reveals that parental education moderates this relationship: very unattractive men with highly educated parents exhibit significantly lower predicted probabilities of perpetrating sexual violence compared to those with less educated parents. Additional mitigating factors, such as neighborhood cohesion, further reduce the strength of this association.
"Active Labour Market Policies for Unemployed Graduates: Evidence on Gender Patterns from Italy" (2020), with E. Havari.
This paper provides evidence on the effectiveness of an active labour market programme (ALMP) targeting unemployed graduates in Italy. The programme, named WELL 30\footnote{That is, Work Experience for unemployed graduates (men and women) who are 30 years old and above (W.E.L.L. 30 – Work Experience Laureati and Laureate) and reside in the Italian region of Umbria.}, aimed to enhance the career prospects of graduates aged 30 or more. %in the Umbria region. It consists of two measures: (i) on-the-job training, and (ii) wage subsidies to firms and organisations for hiring the trainees at the end of the programme. We rely on administrative data and matching techniques to estimate the impact of the intervention in terms of employment outcomes. Results show that WELL 30 participants are increasingly more likely to be employed within the region after the programme completion. We also find notable gender differences: women appear to benefit more from the programme overall, except during the life stage most likely affected by motherhood.
"The influence of Sport Events on Voter Turnout" (2019)
In this paper, I study the impact of sportive events, namely hockey and football matches, on voting behavior in Swiss referenda. I implement a fixed effect regression analysis using cantonal level data, and I show that cantons whose teams are involved in a hockey match before a referendum exhibit higher voter turnout. Local level data show that particularly municipalities closer to the stadium, where more sport supporters live, exhibit higher turnout after hockey and football matches. Preliminary evidence suggests that social pressure fostered by such social events is the main mechanism behind the results.