Chair

About

Biography

Born and raised in Rome, I moved to the US in 2005 to earn a PhD in Economics from The New School for Social Research in 2009. I also have a Dottorato in Economia Politica (PhD, Economics) from Sapienza University of Rome, (2009). My research focuses on: (i) the relationship between economic growth and the distribution of income and wealth; (ii) the interaction between labor market institutions, income distribution and technological change; (iii) the role of the public sector in long-run policy and its distributional effects; (iv) social interactions, social multipliers and economic performance. Recently, I realized that my research provides a fruitful framework to understand so-called (v) secular stagnation, and I have been working on this topic over the last few years. I also have been working on (vi) racial inequality and discrimination.

I am a coauthor of Growth and Distribution, Second Edition (Harvard University Press, 2019). My research articles have been published in journals such as Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Journal of Economic Surveys, Feminist Economics, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, among others. You can scroll down below for a list of my publications.

I also serve or have served as associate editor for the Review of Social Economy, the Journal of Economic Surveys (2017-2023),  the Review of Keynesian Economics, and the Review of Political Economy, and I am on the editorial board of the Italian Economic Journal.

Publications

Books

Growth and Distribution, Second Edition, with Duncan K. Foley and Thomas R. Michl. Harvard University Press, 2019.

Refereed Journal Articles

  1. Group Conflict, Racial Inequality, and Stratification, with Brendan Brundage. Review of Black Political Economy, Online First, August 2024.
  2. Secular Stagnation: a Classical-Marxian View, with Manuel David Cruz. Review of Keynesian Economics vol. 11 (4), 554-584, October 2023.
  3. Classical and Keynesian Models of inequality and Stagnation, with Codrina Rada, Rudiger von Arnim, and Luca Zamparelli. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 211, pp. 442-461, July 2023.
  4. Pandemics and Economic Activity: a Framework for Policy Analysis, with Peter Flaschel, Giorgos Galanis, and Roberto Veneziani. Review of Behavioral Economics, 9: 1-44, 2022.
  5. The Distributive Cycle: Evidence and Current Debates, with Jose Barrales, Ivan Mendieta-Munoz, Codrina Rada, and Rudiger von Arnim. Journal of Economic Surveys, 36(2): 468-503, 2022.
  6. Aggregate Demand Externalities, Income Distribution, and Wealth Inequality, with Luke Petach. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 60: 433-446, 2022.
  7. Path Dependence and Stagnation in a Classical Growth Model, with Thomas R. Michl. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 46(1): 195-281, 2022.
  8. Path Dependence, the Covid-19 Crisis, and Inequality in the United States. European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies:Intervention 18(2): 198-206, 2021.
  9. Differential Rates of Return and Racial Wealth Inequality, with Luke Petach. Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy 4(3): 115-165, 2021.
  10. Labor-augmenting Technical Change and the Wage Share: New Microeconomic Foundations, with Luca Zamparelli. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 56: 27-34, 2021.
  11. Consumption Externalities and Growth: Theory and Evidence for the United States, with Luke Petach. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 183: 976-997, 2021.
  12. Firm Beliefs and Long-Run Demand Effects in a Labor-Constrained Model of Growth and Distribution, with Luke Petach. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 31(2): 353-377, 2020.
  13. Income Shares, Secular Stagnation, and the Long-run Distribution of Wealth, with Luke Petach. Metroeconomica 71 (1): 235-255, 2020.
  14. Climate Change, Innovation, and Growth: the Contributions of William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, with Anders Fremstad and Luke Petach. Review of Political Economy 31 (3): 336-355, 2019.
  15. No one is Alone: Strategic Complementarities, Capacity Utilization, Growth, and Distribution, with Luke Petach, 2019. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 50: 203-215, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2019.07.001
  16. Marx-Biased Technical Change and Income Distribution: a Panel Data Analysis, with Travis Campbell, 2019. Metroeconomica, https://doi-org/10.1111/meca.12247.
  17. Growth, Income Distribution, and the `Entrepreneurial State', with Luca Zamparelli.  Journal of Evolutionary Economics (2018), Online first.
  18. Endogenous Technical Change in Alternative Theories of Growth and Income Distribution, with Luca Zamparelli. Journal of Economic Surveys Vol. 31 No. 5: 1272-1303, 2017.
  19. Government Spending Composition, Aggregate Demand, Growth, and Distribution, with Luca Zamparelli. Review of Keynesian Economics, Vol. 5 No. 2: 239-258, 2017.
  20. Integrating Engineering Outputs from Natural Disaster Models into a Dynamic Spatial Computable General Equilibrium Model of Centerville, with Harvey Cutler, Martin Shields, and Sammy Zahran. Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Vol. 1 No. 3-4: 169-187, 2016.
  21. A Tale of Two Ginis in the US, 1921-2012, with Markus Schneider. International Review of Applied Economics, Vol. 30 No. 6: 677-692, 2016.
  22. Public Capital, Redistribution and Growth in a Two-class Economy, with Luca Zamparelli. Metroeconomica Vol. 67 No. 2: 458-476, 2016.
  23. Endogenous Technical Change, Employment and Distribution in the Goodwin Model of the Growth Cycle, with Luca Zamparelli.  Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, Vol. 19 No. 2: 209–226, 2015.
  24. Credit-Driven Investment, Heterogeneous Labour Markets and Macroeconomic Dynamics, with Matthieu Charpe, Peter Flaschel, Hans–Martin Krolzig, Christian Proano, and Willi Semmler. Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Vol. 10 No. 1: 163-181, 2015.
  25. Capitalists, Workers, and Managers: Wage Inequality and Effective Demand, with Ramaa Vasudevan. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 30: 120–131, 2014.
  26. Redistribution in a Neo-Kaleckian Two-Country Model, with Rudiger von Arnim and Laura Carvalho. Metroeconomica, Vol. 65 No. 3: 430-459, 2014.
  27. Daily Variation in Natural Disaster Casualties: Information Flows, Safety, and Opportunity Costs in Tornado Versus Hurricane Strikes, with Sammy Zahran and Stephan Weiler, Risk Analysis, Vol. 33 No. 7: 1265-1280, 2013.
  28. Bargaining over Productivity and Wages when Technical Change is Induced: Implications for Growth, Distribution, and Employment, Journal of Economics, Vol. 109 No. 3: 207-244, 2013.
  29. Wage Bargaining and Induced Technical Progress in a Linear Economy: Model and Application to the US (1963-2003), Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 23 No. 2: 117-126, 2012.
  30. Embedding Care and Unpaid Work in Macroeconomic Modeling: a Structuralist Approach, with Elissa Braunstein and Irene van Staveren. Feminist Economics, Vol. 17 No. 4, 2011.
  31. Estimated Non-linearities and Multiple Equilibria in a Model of Distributive-Demand Cycles, with Peter Flaschel and Lance Taylor. International Review of Applied Economics, Vol. 25 No. 5, 2011.

Book Chapters

  • A Structuralist Model of the Wage-Price Spiral with Non-Linear Demand Pressure Terms, with Peter Flaschel and Lance Taylor. Chapter 4 in Flaschel, P., and Luchtenberg, S. 2012: Roads to Social Capitalism, Edward Eldgar.
  • The Distributive Cycle with a Non-Linear Wage-Phillips Curve. In Chiarella, C., Flaschel, P., and Semmler, W. (2011): Reconstructing Keynesian Macroeconomics - Part I: Partial Perspectives. Routledge. 

Reprints

  • Daily Variation in Natural Disaster Casualties: Information Flows, Safety, and Opportunity Costs in Tornado Versus Hurricane Strikes, with Sammy Zahran and Stephan Weiler. In Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Hurricane Flooding Disasters, Risk Analysis Virtual Special Issue, September 2018. 
  • Endogenous Technical Change in Alternative Theories of Growth and Income Distribution, with Luca Zamparelli. Chapter 6 in In Veneziani, R., and Zamparelli, L., eds. (2018): Analytical Political Economy, Wiley.

Working Papers

Non-refereed Journal Articles

  • Le Teorie Economiche Alternative e la Crisi. Critica Marxista No. 3-4, 2011: 51-55 (In Italian).

Popular Writings

Courses

  • ECON 704- Macroeconomic Analysis II

    Syllabus

    Second-year graduate course in macro theory, with a focus on endogenous growth, income distribution and macroeconomics, institutions and economic performance, and modern unemployment theories, treated from a mathematically rigorous standpoint. Strong emphasis on welfare analysis and policy considerations.

  • ECON 705 – Heterodox Approaches to Economics

    Syllabus

    First-year grad course focusing on contemporary micro and macro topics in political economy, with an analytical focus. Micro topics include: institutions, evolutionary games, coordination failures, and rationing in labor and credit markets. Macro topics include: growth and distribution in Classical and post-Keynesian frameworks, endogenous technical change, and the distribution of wealth.

  • ECON792A – Theory Seminar – Macro & Distribution

    Syllabus

    Advanced PhD Seminar class focusing on the interaction between macroeconomic variables, income and wealth distribution. Topics include technical change, aggregate demand, and the long-run distribution of wealth.

  • ECON 404 – Macroeconomic Policy

    Syllabus

    Covers advanced, contemporary topics in macroeconomic policy with a focus on modeling techniques and data handling. The main goal of the course is to write a research paper about a policymaking event.

  • ECON606 – Microeconomic Analysis I

    Syllabus

    First year graduate course in Microeconomic Theory. Covers consumption theory, production theory, expected utility, general equilibrium, and elements of welfare economics.