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Firm survival and labour market competition. Joint with Michele Cascarano (Bank of Italy).
Labour market power and labour market reforms in Italy. Joint with Stefano Schiavo and Mauro Caselli (University of Trento).
abstract: This paper investigates the impact of two major labor market reforms enacted in Italy during the 2010s on labor market imperfections. Building on recent methodological advances in the estimation of markups and markdowns, we estimate firm-level measures of the labor wedge, defined as the ratio between the marginal revenue product of labor and its unit cost. Exploiting the institutional setup of the reforms, which affected differently firms above or below a 15-employee threshold, we adopt a difference-in-differences framework to assess whether the reduction in employment protection legislation altered the degree of labor market imperfections. Results show that the reforms increased firms' monopsony power, in line with a simple theoretical framework. The effect is stronger vis-à-vis white-collar workers compared to blue-collar ones.
submitted to a jourmal (current status: submitted).
this paper builds on estimates presented in our previous work "Labour market frictions across worker types".
Innovative firms unveiled: economic and financialinsights from Italian start-ups. Joint with Maria Giulia Cassinis, Andrea Cintolesi, Sara Formai, Francesco Manaresi, Elisabetta Manzoli, Fabio Parlapiano, Giulio Papini, Pasquale Recchia, and Simone Zuccolalà (Bank of Italy).
abstract: This study analyzes the economic and financial characteristics of innovative firms in Italy from 2010 to 2024, focusing on two key groups: innovative start-ups as defined by the Italian ‘Start-up Act’ (INN-SUs) and venture capital-backed start-ups (VCB-SUs). Both groups are then
compared with a broader group of young, limited liability companies (OTH-SUs). Despite representing a small share of the start-up population (2.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively), INN-SUs and VCB-SUs are disproportionately active in innovation, particularly in patenting.
Their ownership structures are more diversified, with younger, predominantly male investors often located outside the firm’s province. While initially smaller in revenues and employment, innovative firms exhibit higher asset intensity and a more robust long-term growth trajectory.
Notably, VCB-SUs experience significant post-investment expansion, highlighting the role of venture capital in easing financial constraints and providing strategic support. The findings suggest that regulatory and market-based definitions of innovation capture complementary dimensions of entrepreneurial potential, with policy frameworks enabling broader access and VC investments signalling high-growth prospects.
circulated as "Occasional Paper" #967, Bank of Italy, 2025.
Labour market frictions across worker types. in Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics. Joint with Stefano Schiavo and Mauro Caselli (University of Trento).
abstract: We analyze the patterns and evolution of labour market frictions in Italy over the period 2002–2019, distinguishing between white- and blue-collar workers. For both types of employees, we document a fall in the wedge between the marginal revenue product of labour (MRPL) and labour costs over the sample period. Such a decline hints to changes in the labour market that favour workers over firms. In the most recent years, the cost of blue-collar workers is about 10% above their MRPL, while white-collar workers’ are paid about 10% below their MRPL. We find significant heterogeneity across economic sectors and Italian regions, with higher labour wedges in the southern part of the country for both white- and blue-collar workers.
Firm-level uncertainty and investments: evidence from South Tyrol. Joint with Luciano Partacini and Nicola Riz (Institute for Economic Research, "IRE", of the Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano-Bozen).
circulated as "Occasional Paper" #904, Bank of Italy, 2024.
presented at Fondazione Tor Vergata in Rome (Jan 2025), FBK/IRVAPP in Trento (Feb 2025), and Banco de Portugal in Lisbon (Sep 2025).
Labour shortages in Italy: determinants, firms' responses and employment prospects. Joint with Silvia Camussi, Graziella Mendicino and Francesca Modena (Bank of Italy).
circulated as "Occasional Paper" #887, Bank of Italy, 2024.
presented at the 2024 Aisre Conference in Turin, the 2024 AIEL Conference in Naples and at FondazioneTor Vergata in Rome (Jan 2025).
High-growht young firms. Joint with Andrea Cintolesi, Edoardo Frattola, Rosalia Greco, Francesca Leombroni, Andrea Linarello, Sara Nesi, and Simone Zuccolala.
circulated as "Occasional Paper" #889, Bank of Italy, 2024.
The impact of EU-ETS on trade. Evidence on Italian manufacturing firms, in "Politica economica, Journal of Economic Policy", 2/2022, pp. 253-278, doi: 10.1429/106259 (special issue on “Climate Change and the Energy Transition”). Joint with Giovanni Marin (University of Urbino Carlo Bo), Alessandro Palma (GSSI) and Giulio Dal Savio (Agenzia delle Dogane).
part of the research project "The effects of climate change on the Italian economy" of the Bank of Italy.
for a summary of the main results, see The effects of climate change on the Italian economy, "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2022, no. 728 (pages 77-81).
also featured on: lavoce.info.
presentation slides.
Comunanza linguistica e commercio con l’estero: il caso dell’Alto Adige, in "Regional Economy", Volume 6, Q2, 2022 .
La crescita dell’economia italiana e il divario Nord-Sud: trend storici e prospettive alla luce dei recenti scenari demografici, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2022, no. 683. Joint with Marta De Philippis, Giulio Papini and Roberto Torrini.
part of the "Mezzogiorno" research project of the Bank of Italy.
also featured on: lavoce.info.
Does EU Regional Policy promote local TFP growth? Evidence from the Italian Mezzogiorno, in "Papers in regional science". 2021;100:327–348. Joint with Giuseppe Albanese and Guido de Blasio.
circulated under the title "Place-based Policy and Local TFP" as Working paper no. 1253, Bank of Italy, 2019.
also featured on: lavoce.info.
TFP differentials across Italian macro-regions: an analysis of manufacturing corporations between 1995 and 2015, in "Politica economica, Journal of Economic Policy" 2/2019, pp. 209-242. Joint with Emanuele Ciani and Marcello Pagnini.
previously published as: Evoluzione territoriale della TFP: analisi dei dati delle società di capitali manifatturiere tra il 1995 e il 2015, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2018, no. 438. Joint with Emanuele Ciani and Marcello Pagnini.
also featured on: lavoce.info.
Heterogeneous Fall in Manufacturing Productive Capacity During the 2008-2013 Italian Double-Dip Recession, in "Politica economica, Journal of Economic Policy" 1/2019, pp. 95-128, doi: 10.1429/93308. Joint with Libero Monteforte and Giordano Zevi.
previously published as: L'eterogenea diminuzione della capacità produttiva nell'industria italiana durante la doppia recessione 2008-13, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2016, no. 303. Joint with Libero Monteforte and Giordano Zevi.
Do public health interventions crowd out private health investments? Malaria control policies in Eritrea, in "Labour Economics", Elsevier, 2017, vol. 45(C), pages 107-115. Joint with Alex Armand, Pedro Carneiro, Selam Mihreteab and Joseph Keating.
also circulated as: CeMMAP working papers CWP12/12, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
also circulated as: IZA Discussion Papers 6560, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
also circulated as: Policy Research Working Paper Series 7268, The World Bank.
also circulated as: CEPR Discussion Papers 8976, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
Investimenti diretti esteri e scambi internazionali di servizi: un'analisi basata sui microdati della bilancia dei pagamenti, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2016, no. 327. Joint with Chiara Bentivogli, Francesco Bripi, Andrea Carboni, Luca Cherubini, Eleonora Laurenza, Paola Monti, Elisabetta Nencioni, Valeria Pellegrini and Diego Scalise.
Main results of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey: Italy in the international context, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2013, no. 161. Joint with Romina Gambacorta, Giuseppe Ilardi, Raffaella Pico and Cristiana Rampazzi.
available also in Italian as: Principali risultati dell’Household Finance and Consumption Survey: l’Italia nel confronto internazionale, in "Occasional Papers", Bank of Italy, 2013, no. 161. Joint with Romina Gambacorta, Giuseppe Ilardi, Raffaella Pico and Cristiana Rampazzi.
Evaluating indoor residual spray for reducing malaria infection prevalence in Eritrea: Results from a community randomized control trial, in "Acta Tropica", 2011 Aug; 119(2-3):107-13. Joint with Joseph Keating, Andemariam Gebremichael, Tewolde Ghebremeskel, Jacob Mufunda, Selam Mihreteab, Daniel Berhane and Pedro Carneiro.
Il quadro economico nel gruppo europeo di cooperazione territoriale Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige/Südtirol - Trentino, in "Feralismo fiscale e autonomie territoriali : lo stato dell' arte nell' Euregio Tirolo - Alto Adige/Südtirol - Trentino", a cura di F. Palermo, S. Parolari e A. Valdesalici, ed. Cedam (Padova), 2013, Collana: Ius publicum europaeum, ISBN: 978-88-13-32902-0.
Determinants of ownership and use of mosquito bed nets in Gambella, Ethiopia, MSc dissertation, 2008.
Bocconi University. Advisor: Eliana la Ferrara. Discussant: Carlo Altomonte.
European Union policies in Development Aid & Humanitarian Aid, BSc dissertation, 2006.
Bocconi University. Advisor: Carlo Altomonte.