The inequality delusion and other scapegoats for populism -- The fairness instinct -- Economic unfairness and the rise of populism -- The twin virtues of equal opportunity and fair unequal outcomes -- Constraints and solutions to economic fairness -- Conclusion. Scripting a path forward.

This paper studies the role of the expansion of higher education supply in increasing the equality of post-secondary education opportunities. It examines Italy's experience during the 1990s, when policy changes prompted universities to offer a wider range of degree courses and to open new...

We use longitudinal data from over 1.5 million students to examine the impact of COVID-19 on students’ achievement in mathematics and reading in primary and lower secondary schools in Italy, as well as its impact on inequalities by gender and socio-economic condition. On average, the cohort of...

Italy has an immobile social structure. At the heart of this immobility is the educational system, with its high direct, but especially indirect cost, due to the extremely long time necessary to get a degree and to complete the subsequent school-to-work transition. Such cost prevents the...

We investigate the historical determinants of the education gender gap in Italy in the late nineteenth century, immediately following the country's Unification. We use a comprehensive newly-assembled database including 69 provinces over twenty-year sub-samples covering the 1861-1901 period. We...