Bio

I graduated from Naples and hold two PhDs, one from Naples and the other from Manchester. I began my academic career focusing on financial markets, economic growth, and the interrelation between finance and development. Since then, a core question has driven my work: why do some societies successfully translate opportunities into development while others fail to do so? Over the years, this question has become the cornerstone of my research, which has progressively expanded from financial dynamics to institutions, and ultimately to large-scale economic and social transformations.

My research consistently leads to the same conclusion: economic development is determined not merely by available resources, but by the quality of institutions, regulatory frameworks, and the trust that enables economic cooperation. From this perspective, I have examined financial development, the shadow economy, corruption, taxation, and, more recently, the Mediterranean as a laboratory for major geo-economic transformations. The findings of this research are documented in over 150 scientific publications, including more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and the annual Mediterranean Economies report, published by Il Mulino.

Since April 1st, 2023, I have served as the Director of the Department of Social sciences and humanities, cultural heritage of the National Research Council (CNR), managing fifteen institutes and approximately nine hundred personnel. My stated objective is to elevate Italian humanistic and social science research to its rightful international standing—and to ensure its weight in public decision-making processes.