"Reassessing International Trade Costs: The Role of Conventional and Unconventional Barriers", Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 2025 [DOI]
"How Interstate Soft Conflicts Affect Bilateral Migration: Results from a Structural Gravity Model", International Economics, 2024 [DOI]
"The Impact of Interstate Soft Conflicts on Bilateral Trade Flows Using Structural Gravity Model", The World Economy, 2024 [DOI]
"Foreign Trade of Georgian Agricultural Products and Existing Potential of Export to the European Union Market" (with J. Kraciuk), Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 2014 [DOI]
"Do External Threats Affect International Relations? Evidence from Small States Neighbouring Russia" (with A. Belmonte & D. Teobaldelli), 2025, Working Papers 502, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali [link]
"Does Emigration Shape Local Specialization? Evidence from Italy" (with A. Lo Turco & D. Maggioni)
This study examines the impact of emigration on local specialization. We focus on the significant rise in emigration rates among the working-age population from Italian provinces following the 2008–2009 economic crisis. Using panel data at the province and province-product level for 2006–2012, we show that emigration reduces exports of high human capital-intensive and high-quality products. These findings are robust to an instrumental variable strategy and reflect the high-skill profile of emigrants from Italian provinces. Our results suggest that high-skilled emigration can reshape local production structures, limiting the capacity to sustain skill-intensive production.
"Bilateral Trade and Voluntary Environmental Standards: Insights from ISO 14001 Certification" (with D. Lena)
This paper examines the relationship between ISO 14001 certification intensity and bilateral trade flows within a structural gravity framework. Exploiting variation between intra-national and international trade flows, we estimate the differential effect of exporter-specific ISO certification intensity on international trade relative to intra-national trade in the presence of high-dimensional fixed effects. Using a balanced panel of 38 OECD countries over the period 2000-2019, we find that higher ISO 14001 certification intensity is associated with higher international trade relative to intra-national trade. The estimated coefficients imply that a one-unit increase in log certification intensity is associated with an increase in international trade relative to intra-national trade of approximately 5-6%. The estimated effect is slightly larger when lagged certification intensity is used, suggesting that the trade-related benefits of certification may materialise gradually as firms implement environmental management practices, signal compliance to foreign partners, and adjust their international market relationships. The results remain robust across alternative specifications, additional bilateral controls, crisis-period checks, and alternative country samples, including a global sample of 198 countries. Sectoral analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity: the estimated effect is strongest in agriculture and manufacturing, smaller in services, and not statistically significant in mining and energy. These findings highlight the importance of sector-specific mechanisms in shaping the trade effects of voluntary environmental standards.
"External Threats and Institutional Trust in Small States in Russia’s Neighborhood: Evidence from the South Caucasus" (with A. Belmonte & D. Teobaldelli) [Preprint]
This study examines whether geopolitical shocks affect institutional trust in small states neighboring Russia. We focus on the 2014 conflict in Ukraine, triggered by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, as an external shock to the perceived credibility of international organizations. Using individual-level survey data from the Caucasus Barometer for Georgia and Armenia over the period 2012–2017, we assess pre- and post-conflict changes in trust in the European Union and the United Nations, as well as support for NATO membership. Although neither country was directly involved in the conflict, the crisis generated substantial geopolitical spillovers across the South Caucasus. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find that institutional trust declined more in Georgia than in Armenia after 2014. The decline is concentrated among older, rural, and less pro-Western respondents. These findings highlight the polarizing effects of external threats and underscore the importance of identity, demographic characteristics, and security context in shaping institutional trust in small states exposed to pressure from a dominant regional power.
"Movement of factors and health" (with A. Lo Turco)
Migrations and multinational company activities are two central phenomena of globalization that have created social challenges, such as balancing growing competitive pressure with developing safe and sustainable production processes. In this context, the project aims to study the relationship between the movement of factors and health. The project will advance the state of the art by carrying out the first study to our knowledge on the impact of multinational activities on worker safety and providing new evidence on the link between immigration and workers' health based on detailed data at the plant-company level through which it will also be possible to study the channels underlying the relationship.
"Interstate soft conflicts and bilateral FDI"
In this study, a structural gravity approach is used to examine the impact of interstate conflicts on bilateral FDI. Interstate soft conflicts that arise when diplomacy fails and a military operation seems too extreme may act as a policy tool and have a negative impact on bilateral relations. The empirical approach uses balanced panel data with annual observations and a theory-consistent structural gravity model of FDI, augmented by a new measure of interstate soft conflict.
"Technical Barriers to Trade in the European Union and Georgia's further Rapprochement with the EU", Proceedings of International Scientific-Practical Conference on National Economies and Globalisation, Tom2, 394-398, 2012 [link]
"Prospects of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Georgia", Proceedings of International Scientific-Practical Conference on the Globalization, Contemporary Problems of International Business and Development Trends, 471-474, 2012 [link]
"Georgia's External Trade Relations with the European Union", Proceedings of International Scientific-Practical Conference on Actual Economic Problems At Current Stage of Global Development, 419-422, 2010 [link]