Research

Working Papers:

• Don’t Stick a Spoon in Marital Disputes? Sentencing Severity and Domestic Violence

 with  Rui Costa, Beatriz Ribeiro & Matteo Sandi

We estimate the impact of sentencing severity on the dynamics of domestic violence. The study uses ten years of merged individual-level administrative registers on domestic violence cases brought to the police and family linkages for Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Leveraging Brazil’s “Lei do Feminicidio”, which was implemented in March 2015 to include the crime of “femicide” in the Brazilian penal law, we find that sentencing severity significantly affects the behavior of both offenders and victims of domestic violence. While the policy change seemingly deterred potential offenders by reducing the incidence of domestic violence, victims of domestic violence became more likely to ask for protective measures and more reluctant to press charges against their abusive partners, as a framework of compensating mechanisms would predict. For a policymaker seeking to design effective sentences to combat domestic violence, the tension between these outcomes appears critical.

Presented at (* by co-author): EEA 2025, 5th EUI Alumni Conference, 2025 Workshop in Gender Economics at ENS de Lyon, Alp-Pop 2025, WISE 2025, EDP Jamboree at Pompeu Fabra University, Workshop on Public Policies at UB, XV Transatlantic Workshop on the Economics of Crime, 39th AIEL Conference*, "Crime Before Christmas" Annual Workshop at Bocconi University*.

• Measuring Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace: Evidence from Italian Managers

with Paola Profeta             [Submitted]

This paper provides a novel, comprehensive descriptive analysis of explicit and implicit stereotypes in the workplace, drawing on original survey data and Implicit Association Test (IAT) results from 2,037 managers in Italy. We examine how individual traits such as gender, age, and personal experience, along with firm characteristics like sector, organizational structure, and workplace policies, relate to bias. Male managers show significantly higher levels of gender bias compared to female managers. Gender stereotypes are more common in the manufacturing sector and in small to medium-sized firms. Support for paternity leave and gender quotas is linked to lower bias levels. A higher share of female managers within a firm is also associated with lower levels of explicit bias. However, IAT scores explain little additional variation beyond self-reported attitudes. These findings offer policy-relevant insights for designing interventions to foster a more equitable work environment.

• Length of Education and Fertility: Does Shorter Schooling lead to Births at a Younger Age?

with Henrike Alm and Mirjam Stockburger. 

Many OECD countries experience rising educational attainment alongside delayed family formation. This paper examines whether reducing secondary school duration affects fertility decisions. We exploit Germany’s G8 reform, which shortened the academic school track by one year while keeping total instruction hours constant. Using a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach and German Microcensus data (2012–2021), we find that the reform led to a lower Abitur graduation age and an earlier completion of vocational education. Moreover, it increased the likelihood of marriage and parenthood by age 30, with these effects driven primarily by West German states.

Publications:

1. "Overstretched: Financial Distress and Intimate Partner Violence in the US" (with Chiara Santantonio)

Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 107 (2026)

2. “Gender Quotas in Municipal Executives: Reallocating Public Spending in Italy" (with Flavia Cavallini  and Alice Dominici )

International Tax and Public Finance, Forthcoming 

3. "Gender Difference in Off-school Time Use and Academic Achievement" (2025). 

Education Economics, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2025.2578745.

Work in Progress:

• Economic Security, Safer Homes: 2017 Child Tax Credit and Intimate Partner Violence, with Bianca Meoli.

• Delay and Distress: How Shifts in Paydays Shape Consumption Responses, with Chiara Santantonio.

• Fighting Domestic Violence: The Role of Local Monitoring Policies, with  Rui Costa, Beatriz Ribeiro & Matteo Sandi.

• Discrimination Against Women and the Elderly: Survey Results from Italian Firms,  with Francesco Maura and Paola Profeta.