In 2015 Francesco was awarded the Bonaldo Stringher scholarship by the Bank of Italy for his work on individual political donations in the US. His current work investigates on core aspects of labor economics and political economy, which are at the centre of open debates.
On the one hand, he analyzes workers’ mental health following layoffs and how employment protection legislation affects firms’ decisions to create and destroy jobs. On the other hand, he studies how politicians, voters and public officials respond to changes in voting laws or salient issues covered by the media.