Publications: 

1. FDI and Structural Transformation in Africa, The World Bank Economic Review,  2025 (with B. Hoekman and M. Tambussi) [Summary of PEDL Project]

2. Value-Added in African Exports and Rules of Origin, The World Economy, 2025 (with M. Olarreaga, B. Hoekman, C. Lippitsch, R. Ticku) [IGC blog] 

3. Roads, Competition, and the Informal Sector, Journal of Development Economics, 171 (10): 103339, 2024 (with E. Perra and A. Sundaram) [VoxDev]

4. Trade, Productivity, and Services Input Intensity, Review of World Economics, 2024 (with B. Hoekman, F. Santi and R. Ticku)

5. Mobile Internet, Skills, and Structural Transformation in Rwanda, Research Policy, 52(10), 104871, 2023 (with B. Caldarola, M.Grazzi, M.Occelli)

6. Trade and Value Chain Participation: Domestic Firms and FDI Spillovers in Africa, The World Economy , 2023 (with B. Hoekman) [AERC special issue on Value Chain Development, Trade and Economic Transformation in Africa]

7. Aid and Internal Migration in Malawi, World Development, 162: 106134, 2023 (with M. Lanati and F. Santi)

8. Services, Jobs and Economic Development in Africa, The World Bank Research Observer, 38(1): 147–178, 2023 (with L. Baccini, B. Hoekman, M. Fiorini) [VoxEU][IGC Blog][Project Webpage]

9. Roads and Jobs in Ethiopia, The World Bank Economic Review, 36(4):999-1020, 2022 (with M. Fiorini)

10. Trade Liberalization, Employment and Gender in Ethiopia, Journal of Development Studies, 58(11): 2366-2392, 2022 (with G. Giovannetti and A. Vivoli)

11. Trade Liberalization, Roads and Firm Productivity, Journal of Development Economics, 153: 1-18, 2021 (with M. Fiorini and A. Sundaram) [IGC blog] [IGC Policy Brief] [VoxDev][UNIDO IAP]

12. Chinese Official Finance and Political Participation in Africa, European Economic Review, 136: 1-28, 2021  (with F. Iacoella, B. Martorano and L. Metzger) [write up in The Conversation UK] [coverage by Italian newspaper Domani]

13. Markup Dispersion and Firm Entry: Evidence from Ethiopia, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 83(2): 299.327, 2021 (with K.A. Damoah and G. Giovannetti) 

14. The productivity gaps of female owned firms: Evidence from Ethiopian census, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 69(2): 645-683, 2021(with D. Essers and K. Megersa)

15. Importing and Productivity: An Analysis of South African Manufacturing Firms, Review of Industrial Organization, 57: 411–432, 2020 (with L. Edwards and A. Sundaram)

16. Chinese development assistance and household welfare in sub‐Saharan Africa, World Development, 129(5): 1-21, 2020 (with B. Martorano and L. Metzger) [UNU-Merit blog]

17. Foreign Participation in Public Procurement and Firm Performance: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa, Review of World Economics, 156 (1): 41–73, 2020 (with B. Hoekman) [IGC Policy Brief] [UNIDO IAP blog piece]

18. FDI, Global Value Chains and Local Sourcing in Developing Countries, World Development, 113: 73-88, 2019 (with V. Amendolagine, A. Presbitero, and R. Rabellotti). [VoxEU][Bloomberg][EIBA 2017 best Paper track IB and Ec Geography] 

19. What factors drive successful industrialization? Evidence and implications for developing countries, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 49(6): 266-276, 2019 (with N. Haraguchi and B. Martorano) [background paper for UNIDO Report on Structural Change] [2019 SCED Best Paper Award]

20. Manufacturing growth accelerations in developing countries, Review of Development Economics, 23(4): 1696-1724, 2019 (with N. Haraguchi, B. Martorano and A. Shingal)

21. Investors’ characteristics and the business climate as drivers of backward linkages in Vietnam, Journal of Policy Modeling, 41(5): 882-904, 2019 (with C. Franco and A. Seric)

22. Diverse twins: analysing China’s impact on Italian and German exports using a multilevel quantile regressions approach, Applied Economics, 50 (28), 3051-3065, 2018 (with G. Giovannetti and M. Velucchi).

23. Importing and Firm Export Performance: New Evidence from South Africa, South African Journal of Economics, 86, 79-95, 2018 (with L. Edwards and A. Sudaram). 

24. Highly skilled returnees and the internationalization of EMNEs: Firm level evidence from China, International Business Review, 26 (3), 579-591, 2017 (with X. Fu and J. Hou). [IBR Best Journal Paper Award 2018]

25. Catching-up, Structural Transformation and Wage Inequality: Lessons from Asia, Industrial and Corporate Change, 26 (4):555-570, 2017 (with B. Martorano and D. Park). [ADB blog] [GPiD blog]

26. Spillovers from Agglomerations and FDI. A Multilevel Analysis on SSA Domestic Firms, Review of World Economics, 152(1): 147-176, 2016 (with A. Seric).

27. China’s competition and the export price strategies of developed countries, International Review of Applied Economics, 30 (2), 238-254, 2016 (with G. Giovannetti).

28. The impact of outward FDI on the performance of Chinese firms, China Economic Review, 36: 42-57, 2015 (with C. Cozza and R. Rabellotti). [WP version quoted by The Economist]

29. Structural change and wage inequality in themanufacturing sector: long run evidence from East Asia, Oxford Development Studies, 43(2): 212-231, 2015 (with B. Martorano).

30. Supply Chains and the Internationalization of Small Firms, Small Business Economics, 44(4): 465-485, 2015 (with G. Giovannetti and E. Marvasi). 

31. FDI from Emerging Markets and the productivity gap - An analysis on affiliates of BRICS EMNEs in Europe, International Business Review, 24(4): 665-676, 2015. 

32. Impact of South-South FDI and trade on the export upgrading of African economies, World Development, 64: 1-17, 2014 (with A. Amighini).

33. Investigating Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investments: How Can Firm-level Data Help? China & World Economy, 22(6): 44-63, 2014 (with A. Amighini, C. Cozza and R. Rabellotti).

34. Do Chinese SOEs and private companies differ in their internationalisation strategies? China Economic Review, 27: 312-325, 2013 (with A. Amighini and R. Rabellotti).

35. Innovative features in poverty reduction programmes: the impact evaluation of Chile Solidario on households and children, Journal of International Development, 24(8): 1030-1041, 2012 (with B. Martorano).

36. Successes in Social Protection: What lessons can be learned? Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 32(4): 439-453, 2011 (with A. de Haan, G. Giovannetti, and R. Sabates-Wheeler). [VoxEU]

37. Chinese FDI to Africa: What the nexus with Foreign Economic Cooperation? African Development Review, 22 (S1): 599-614, 2010.

38. Do Chinese exports crowd-out African goods? An Econometric Analysis by Country and Sector, European Journal of Development Research, 21(4): 506-530, 2009 (with G. Giovannetti).

39. Understanding China's Move into Africa: An Empirical Analysis, Journal of Chinese Business and Economic Studies, 7(1): 31-53, 2009 (with M. Biggeri).