Gonçalo Pessa Costa

I am a labor and urban economist and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. I am joining the Economics Department of Sciences Po, Paris, as a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in July 2026.

My research examines market power and power relations in labor and housing markets, with a particular focus on public policy effects.

As part of my ongoing research, I study firms' violations of labor rights, including minimum wage and overtime regulations, and workers' power to complain. I also examine how firm structures like franchising and employee ownership affect job quality and labor standards compliance. I am developing machine learning tools to detect firms at high risk of noncompliance and partnering with state labor enforcement agencies to field-test these tools for enforcement targeting.

Here is my CV.