I was born in Italy but grew up in Germany where I also started studying economics at university. I got my first degree from the London School of Economics in 1990 and my PhD in economics from Stanford University in 1994. I started teaching and doing research at UPF just afterwards. Since then I have spent most of my time at UPF, but also spent several years at the University of California at Berkeley, USA and the University of Mannheim, Germany.

Research interests

My main interests are in applied macroeconomics. Examples of my work are a study of how much of the spatial differences in productivity in the US can be explained by agglomeration economies; a study on the extent to which international trade raises the income levels of countries; and a study on the strength of positive externalities to higher levels of schooling. In my latest research I have examined the links between economic performance and politics. Three examples are a study on the link between rainfall-driven economic shocks and civil conflict; a study on the effect of rainfall-driven economic shocks on democratization; and a study on the role of oil-price shocks on democratization. Currently, I am working on the effect of economic risk on the spread of religious comunities and venturing into applied microeconomics with a study of gender peer effects in school.