PhD Student in Economics
PhD Student in Economics
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I am a PhD student in Economics at the University of Naples "Federico II" (Italy).
I am an applied microeconomist. I use text analysis techniques to explore a range of topics across economics, including:
Political Economy
Finance
Law & Economics
Main Research Projects
Main Research Projects
Sovereign Bonds and Government Cohesion:
Estimating the Political Bite of Bond Vigilantes
Sovereign Bonds and Government Cohesion:
Estimating the Political Bite of Bond Vigilantes
Abstract: Traders of sovereign bonds closely monitor national politics, as the value of government bonds is highly sensitive to factors such as policy decisions, sovereign default risk, and political instability. Governments, in turn, pay close attention to bond market movements, since large sell-offs drive up yields and increase the cost of servicing public debt. While extensive research has explored how bondholders respond to government actions, there is limited empirical evidence that governments systematically react to pressures from bond markets. This paper presents the first causal evidence of the influence of ``bond vigilantes" on government behavior. It examines shifts in cohesion within the governing coalition as a political response to changes in yields, finding that increased bond pressure leads to greater coalition unity. Drawing on data from Italy’s XVIII legislature (2018–2022), the study introduces a novel, high-frequency measure of government cohesion based on textual analysis of parliamentary speeches by coalition members. To identify exogenous variation in bond pressure, the paper employs an instrumental variable strategy that leverages movements in foreign bond markets with correlated trends. The findings are robust across specifications and are confirmed using an alternative cohesion measure derived from roll-call votes. Importantly, the analysis finds no correlation between government cohesion and stock market fluctuations, suggesting that the influence of ``vigilantes" is specific to bond markets.
Grants: Fulbright Visiting Student Scholarship (2024/2025), Ronald Coase Institute Fellowship (2025).
Presented at: Bocconi University (Italy); University of Milan-Bicocca (Italy); 2025 Ronald Coase Institute Workshop on Institutional Analysis (Perugia, Italy); University of Bologna (Italy); 2025 NPDE PhD and Post-Doctoral Workshop (Naples, Italy).
Judges-Lawyers Repeated Interactions and Case Outcomes:
Evidence from Supreme Court trials in Italy
Judges-Lawyers Repeated Interactions and Case Outcomes:
Evidence from Supreme Court trials in Italy
with Giovanni Immordino and Tommaso Oliviero
Abstract: This paper uses judgments from the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation spanning from 2017 to 2022 to examine the relationship between repeated interactions of lawyers with the same court of judges and the probability of winning a case. Results indicate that with a one standard deviation increase in the frequency of lawyers-judges matches the probability is approximately 10 p.p. higher relative to the average. This result is robust to a battery of granular fixed effects and to an instrumental variable approach based on the variation of matches induced by the exit of judges.
Presented at: 2025 Law, Markets, and Public Policy Workshop (Acciaroli, Italy); University of Naples Federico II (Italy).
Voting and Speaking in Coalition Governments:
Patterns of Parliamentary Behavior
Voting and Speaking in Coalition Governments:
Patterns of Parliamentary Behavior
with Antonia Pacelli
[under review]
Abstract: This paper investigates how coalition parties balance the dual imperatives of governing together and competing for votes, focusing on two central instruments of parliamentary behavior: voting and speech. Drawing on a novel dataset covering all parliamentary votes and speeches in Italy’s XVIII legislature (2018–2022), we show that coalition partners display higher voting alignment but greater rhetorical divergence when governing together compared to when they are at the opposition. By analyzing both votes and speeches, the paper provides evidence that parties use these instruments to signal unity to coalition partners while maintaining distinct political identities before voters. This approach advances research that has typically analyzed one instrument in isolation. The findings underscore the importance of integrating communicative and legislative behavior to understand the dynamics of coalition governance and party competition.
Presented at: 82nd Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference (Chicago, IL); 2024 Workshop on “Text-as-Data” in Economics (University of Liverpool, UK); University of Naples Federico II (Italy).
Other Projects and Working in Progress
Other Projects and Working in Progress
Environmental commitment in public spending:
a green index for Italian procurement
Environmental commitment in public spending:
a green index for Italian procurement
with Maria Carmela Ceparano, Carmela Orazzo, Antonia Pacelli, and Marco Pagnozzi
Discussion Paper
Abstract: Green Public Procurement (GPP) has been increasingly promoted as a tool to drive the transition to sustainable economies. Unlike most European countries, minimum environmental criteria are legally binding in Italy. This paper introduces a novel Greenness Intensity Index to assess the environmental commitment of Italian public administrations through their procurement practices focusing on the food and catering sector. Using a text-based analysis of calls for tenders issued between 2012 and 2024, we capture the frequency and distribution of sector-specific green keywords grounded in Italian legislation, providing a systematic measure of GPP implementation over time and across Italian regions.
Funded by: GRINS Foundation.
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