He holds a Master in economics from the CSREAM (Naples, Italy). His research interests include, among others, rural development issues, in particular the behaviour of family farms, agricultural labour and off-farm labour participation. His papers on these topics have been published on the European Review of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics, Cahiers dEconomie et de Sociologie Rurales, Rivista di Economia Agraria, Questione Agraria. He has published over 50 scientific articles, books and monographs. He has worked as a consultant for the European Commission, for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and for Italian regional administrative bodies.