📊Political economy; Political behavior and representation; Comparative politics; Gender and politics 📊
How do crises reshape politics differently for men and women?
My research mainly explores the gendered dimensions of representation, participation, and economic empowerment in response to exogenous shocks.
Selected Work in Progress:
"The Political Aftershocks of Natural Disasters: Gender Penalties in Post-Crisis Elections"
(Scheduled) Presentations: Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference 2026 (Chicago, USA - April 2026)
Working Papers:
"From Voters to Politicians: The Vanishing Gender Gap in Preferences," with P. Profeta, R. Puglisi, S. Scabrosetti
Abstract: We study gender gaps in policy attitudes among voters, candidates, and elected officials using harmonized cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and Comparative Candidates Survey (CCS). Gender differences in policy preferences are large among voters, but narrow among candidates and shrink further among elected officials. Same-sex rights are a notable exception, with persistent gender divides across all political levels. Convergence mainly reflects female politicians moving toward male positions, especially among centrists, rather than mutual adjustment. This pattern arises from selection at entry into politics, not socialization through experience: first-time candidates already resemble incumbents in their gender gaps. At ideological extremes, convergence varies and follows party issue ownership. Overall, political selection strongly limits the extent to which descriptive representation produces substantive policy differences, shaping how gender translates into representation and responsiveness.
Presentations: Italian Political Science Association (SISP) Conference 2025 (Naples, IT - September 2025); CIVICA Political Behaviour and Institutions (PoBI) Conference (Vienna, AT - May 2025);