I am an Associate Professor in Public Finance at the University of Cagliari.
I am an applied microeconomist.
My work focuses mainly on how incentives, selection, staffing, and worker preferences shape productivity in the public sector across different domains, including education, academia, and the judicial system. In addition, I study how individuals make decisions under risk and uncertainty, particularly in sports betting and personal finance.
I am also carrying out a long-term project on the digitalization of historical data and the construction of long-run series for post-unitary Italy (and Sardinia).
To see my CV, click here (last update: December 2025)
BIO
Previous positions
2025 - Visiting Professor - Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
2022 - 2025 - Senior Assistant Professor (RTD/B) - University of Cagliari
2019 - 2022 - Assistant Professor (RTD/A) - University of Cagliari
2018 - 2019 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow - University of Cagliari
Education
2018 - Phd in Economics - Universitat Pompeu Fabra,
2013 - M.Res. in Economics - Universitat Pompeu Fabra,
2011 - MSc in Economics - University of Essex,
RESEARCH
PUBLISHED PAPERS
The Magic of the Game: Experimental Evidence on Sports Betting Behavior
with Martin Chegere, Paolo Falco, Lorenzo Pandolfi, and Mattea Stein
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Volume 240, 2025, 107301
The Effect of Tenure-track Systems on Selection and Productivity in Economics
with Roberto Nisticò and Lorenzo Pandolfi
Labour Economics, Volume 97, December 2025, 102779
Supported by the Career Structure in Economics Research Grant, European Economic Association
Depowering Risk: Vehicle Power Restriction and Teen Driver Accidents in Italy
with Silvia Balia and Rinaldo Brau
The Journal of Law and Economics, Volume 66:4, 2023, 765-795
Media coverage: VoxEu
Choosing Not to Lead: Monetary Incentives and Political Selection in Local Parliamentary Systems
with Andrea Caria and Fabio Cerina
European Journal of Political Economy, Volume 79, September 2023, 102406
The Effectiveness of Promotion Incentives for Public Employees: Evidence from Italian Academia
with Lorenzo Pandolfi
Economic Policy, Volume 37, Issue 112, October 2022, Pages 697-748
Policy brief: Economic Policy Panel
Cutting Through the Fog: Financial Literacy and Financial Investment Choices
with Lorenzo Pandolfi
Journal of the European Economic Association, Volume 19, Issue 1, February 2021, Pages 237–274.
WORKING PAPERS
with Matteo Bobba, Tim Ederer, Gianmarco León-Ciliotta, and Christopher Neilson
NBER Working Paper No. 29068 (July 2021), revised January 2026
Revise & Resubmit (second round), Journal of Political Economy
▹ Abstract
WORK IN PROGRESS
Scholars & the Machine. On Automation and Academic Performance
with Alessio Garau and Alessio Moro
What's in a name? Municipal Mergers, Migration, and Identity
with Claudio Deiana and Andrea Geraci
A Mentoring Program for Women Empowerment
with Michele Giannola, Lorenzo Pandolfi, and Valeria Zurla
Staffing Courts, Judges' Preferences, and Judicial Efficiency
with Monica Langella, Lorenzo Pandolfi, and Marco Stenborg Petterson
Cultural Codes, Institutions, and Crime. Enclosures and Violence in 19th Century Sardinia
with Claudio Deiana
Choking Under Pressure and Risk Aversion: Evidence from Football Penalties
with Luca Coraggio and Lorenzo Pandolfi
"ANTONIO PIGLIARU" WORKSHOP
The "Antonio Pigliaru" Workshop – named after the Sardinian philosopher – is a biennial event, each edition focusing on a different topic. The connection between the various themes is that they all link to events and phenomena that have shaped the history of Sardinia.
Starting from the local scale, the workshop goes beyond the Sardinian context through a multidisciplinary approach that - besides economists - combines the perspectives of philosophers, historians, jurists, architects, and other scientists.
The workshop is organized by Alberto Bisin, Claudio Deiana, Luigi Guiso, Mario Macis, Marco Nieddu, and Francesco Pigliaru, thanks to the financial support of Fondazione di Sardegna.
ALL EDITIONS
TEACHING
I currently teach Public Finance and Data Analysis for Economics.
Previously, I also taught Econometrics Methods (PhD), Microeconomics, and Labour Economics.
All teaching resources are available on my UNICA webpage