Antitrust Policies and Profitability in Non-Tradable Sectors (with Tim Besley and Nicola Limodio) - American Economic Review: Insights, Volume 3, Number 2, June 2021, Pages 251-65
Abstract: Firms in tradable sectors are more likely to be subject to external competition to limit market power while non-tradable firms are more dependent on domestic policies and institutions. This paper combines an antitrust index available for multiple countries with firm-level data from Orbis covering more than 10 million firms from 90 countries, covering 20 sectors over 10 years and finds that profit margins of firms operating in non-tradable sectors are significantly lower in countries with stronger antitrust policies compared to firms operating in tradable sectors. The results are robust to a wide variety of empirical specifications.
Historical Roots of Political Extremism: The Effects of Nazi Occupation of Italy (with Tommaso Nannicini and Guido Tabellini) - Journal of Comparative Economics, Volume 51, Issue 3, September 2023, Pages 723-743
Abstract: We study the impact of the Italian Civil War and Nazi occupation of Italy in 1943--45 on postwar political outcomes. The Communist Party, which was more active in the resistance movement, gained votes in areas where the Nazi occupation was both longer and harsher, mainly at the expense of centrist parties. This effect persists until the late 1980s. These results suggest that civil war and widespread political violence reshape political identities in favor of the political groups that emerge as winners. This benefits extremist groups and hurts moderates since the former have a comparative advantage in organizing violent conflict.
Emigration and Long-Run Economic Development: the Effects of the Italian Mass Migration (with Marco Manacorda, Gianluca Russo and Marco Tabellini) [TCD WP]
In this paper, we study the long-run effects of emigration on economic development. We consider the case of historical mass migration from Italy between 1880 and 1920, when more than 10 million people left the country. We exploit variation in access to information about opportunities abroad to derive an instrument for outmigration at the municipality level. We find that areas with higher historical emigration are poorer, less educated, and less densely populated at the turn of the 21st century. These effects emerged early and persisted, as emigration led to sustained depopulation that, combined with declining fertility and lower human capital investment, constrained the structural transformation from agriculture to manufacturing and services.Â
Who is my neighbour? Short-term renting and civic engagement in London [CEP WP] [TCD WP]
Urbanization has transformed cities into the economic hubs of high-income countries, yet concerns about declining social capital persist. This paper investigates the impact of changes in neighbourhood composition on social capital within London. I show how neighbourhoods with higher short-term renting penetration experience a reduction in charitable organizations and increased feelings of loneliness. These results cannot be attributed uniquely to a change of composition in the long-term residents, but they also reflect changes in the behaviours of residents. Moreover, I find that higher short-term renting penetration is associated with a decrease in neighbourhood quality.
Backlash against Airbnb: Evidence from London
(Do not) Keep Calm and Carry On: TV and Heated Debates (with Matteo Pograxha)
Entrepreneurial skills: Learning by Renting
How long does it take for the memory of a civic conflict to fade? Marriages, fascism, and anti-fascism in Italy (with Andrea Ichino and Tommaso Nannicini)
Mussolini on Tour: Fascist Propaganda and Repression (with Francesco Barilari and Nicola Mastrorocco)