Grants

Inequalities and labor markets

PRIN 2022 PNRR

Income inequality has been rising over time in most OECD countries, while real wages have been stagnating and labor shares falling. Together with the Covid-19 turmoil and the current international situation, they have re-ignited the interest in inequalities among economists and policymakers.
This project contributes to the literature on inequalities by analyzing how these interact with labor markets. This study combines Work Packages that, taken together, will give a broad view of how education, technological and climate change-related shocks, and institutions drive the level of inequalities and their persistence over time. Results from this project will potentially inform and guide policymakers in designing policies to promote inclusive growth and reduce labor market inequalities.

Research Team

University of Naples Federico II

Lorenzo Pandolfi

Principal Investigator – Associate Professor of Economics

Roberto Nisticò

Professor of Economics

Ettore Panetti

Associate Professor of Finance

Research Team

University of Cagliari

Marco Nieddu

Local coordinantor – Associate Professor of Economics

Alessio Moro

Professor of Economics

Claudio Deiana

Associate Professor of Economics

Funded Project

Titolo del progetto

Lorenzo Pandolfi, Tizio Caio, Lorem Ipsum

Published in Journal X, 2025

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Mentoring and Schooling Choices: Experimental Evidence from Italy

1st UNICREDIT RESEARCH GRANT ON EDUCATION

This project, funded by the 1st Research Grant on Education awarded by the UniCredit Foundation (200,000€), evaluates My Future Buddy (MFB)—a near-peer mentoring program for upper-secondary school students in Southern Italy. Implemented by the Ortygia Foundation and co-designed with experto psychologists and pedagogists, MFB aims to (i) alleviate information frictions about returns to tertiary education, (ii) help students identify ambitious yet realistic career aspirations, and (iii) develop socio-emotional skill via laboratory sessions. We use a randomized controlled trial where some classes within sample school are randomly selected for participation, and collect data on school perforamnce, aspirations, beliefs, noncognitive skills, and post-school choices through a series of questionnaires and administrative school-level data. Finally, we also study mechanisms and heterogeneous treatment effects.