He obtained a PhD in Economics from IMT Alti Studi Lucca in 2014 and an MSc in Economics from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in 2010. His recent activities include teaching (at graduate level) and research appointments at the Invalsi Research Institute (2014/2015) and at Rome’s City Hall (2015). Alessandro's main research interest is political economy and public economics, with a special focus on the interaction between formal and informal institutions---such as norms, attitudes, and beliefs, from both an analytic and empirical perspective. He is also interested in educational economics and in the frictions that generate inequalities among Italian students.