Abstract: This paper examines how currency shocks, by affecting relative wages, influence cross-border relocation, commuting, and housing markets. We leverage the 2015 Swiss Franc appreciation as a natural experiment, which affected the Swiss wages relative to its neighbors. Using municipal-level data from Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, we estimate a dynamic difference-in-differences regression between border and non-border areas. Findings indicate that, after the currency shock, European residents in Switzerland relocated to neighboring countries but maintained employment, turning into cross-border workers. As a result, housing prices in Swiss border areas dropped, and increased in adjacent regions abroad. The results reveal heterogeneity in relocation patterns by the neighboring country, emphasizing the role of each country's conditions in shaping relocation choices. The evidence suggests that wage shocks across neighboring countries affect migration and housing demand in strategic locations, affecting housing affordability for local residents. Additionally, changes in the stock of cross-border also reflect location choice rather than simple labor supply shifts. Stricter cross-border work regulations could encourage long-term migration, and contribute to a more balanced development of housing markets across borders.

Presented at: 17th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association (Toronto) , 12th European Meeting of the Urban Economic Association, Bocconi University (Milan), NetCIEx Workshop by the Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation (Ispra), Annual Congress of the Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (Neuchâtel), Swiss Workshop on Local Public Finance and Regional Economics (Bern), The Economics of Migration Junior Webinar, ACROSS workshop (Ispra), IdEP Brown Bag Seminar (Lugano).

Abstract: We investigate the labor market and health consequences of primary care variation in benzodiazepine prescriptions, a common type of low-value care. Using Dutch general practitioners' records linked to administrative data, we construct an exogenous measure of GPs’ prescribing behavior by leveraging institutional constraints on patients' choice of doctors. We then compare otherwise similar individuals exposed to GPs with different propensities to prescribe benzodiazepines after a common mental health shock, the loss of a close relative. After the relative's death, individuals exposed to general practitioners with a higher propensity to prescribe benzodiazepines more often receive out-of-guidelines prescriptions for benzodiazepine and are less likely to use specialized mental health care. Furthermore, they have worse labor market outcomes: an increase in unemployment benefits receipt in the short term and a decline in work income in subsequent years.

Presented at: European Health Economic Association (EuHEA) PhD Conference (Galway), CEPRA/NBER Workshop on Aging and Health (Lugano), CBS Department seminar (Copenhagen), Research seminar (Tokyo), CEPR-TSE Health Economics Conference (Toulouse), Essen Health Conference (Essen), IdEP Brown Bag Seminar (Lugano), NetCIEx Workshop by the Competence Centre on Microeconomic Evaluation (Ispra).

Abstract: This paper investigates how the unveiling of infiltration by the organized crime in Italian municipalities influences voter participation. We claim that the public disclosure of the infiltration represents an informational shock for the local voters, affecting their level of trust in political institutions and - in turn - their level of political participation. We leverage the timing of dismissal of the infiltrated city councils in an event-study design and estimate its effect on turnout in elections at national and regional level. We find that, on average, turnout drops by about 2 percentage points in municipalities where the city council was dismissed for infiltrations by the organized crime. This effect is registered in following 12 months from the dissolution and persists up to 4 years. The effects are intensified in more recent years, reflecting a higher salience of mafia crimes following early 2000s. We finally document relevant spillover of the policy in neighboring municipalities, that display similar reductions in voter turnout. In sum, our findings suggest that the public disclosure of anti-mafia interventions, despite the benefits documented in the literature, also carry unintended consequences for political engagement.

Presented at: Economic seminar series (Basel), IdEP Brown Bag Seminar (Lugano). 

Abstract: Economic theory predicts that when an actuarially fair insurances are available, risk-averse utility-maximizing agents do not bear risks. In real life, there are large departures from the actuarially fair premium which induce agents to bear risk, compensated with a reduction in prices by an extent proportional with the degree of risk aversion. In this paper, we test this theory using Swiss housing prices, exploiting the existence of a dual public–private insurance system, with the private system having significantly higher premiums for natural hazards insurances on housing. First, we develop a simple theoretical model to explain the effects that the type of insurance system have on real estate prices. Second, using various measures of flood’s risk, we empirically test the model using a two way fixed effect regression. We find that increasing flood risk is capitalized only in house prices under the private insurance system.

Presented at: IdEP Brown Bag Seminar (Lugano). 

Objective: Analyze the impact of religiosity on the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Stage: First analyses.

Objective: Analyze the impact on human capital and firm's output of migration shocks in the origin country of cross-border workers in a border economy.

Stage: Data collection.

Objective: Evaluate the spillovers of depression on labour market participation and mental health outcomes.

Stage: First results.