The Crew
Core Team
Alessio Sardo
​Principal Investigator
Alessio Sardo (B.A., M.A. in Law, Trieste; PhD in Law, Genoa, 2015) is currently a Full Professor at the University of Genoa, Law Department. Previously, he was Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Heidelberg (Germany), Department of Public Law, Constitutional Theory and Philosophy of Law and Research Visiting Associate at the London School of Economics. In 2014-2019, he served as a Researcher and Lecturer at Bocconi University (Milano).
His research operates at the intersection on legal theory, comparative law, and economic analysis of law. Alessio Sardo’s published works have appeared on The European Journal of Law and Economics, The Modern Law Review, The American Journal of Jurisprudence, The Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, The German Law Review, Archiv für Rechts und Sozialphilosophie, Rechtstheorie, The European Journal of Migration and Law, Jurisprudence, The Kanazawa Law Journal, the European Convention of Human Rights Law Review, and Ratio Juris.
Alessio’s interests span music, design, architecture, and visual culture, with a particular fascination for 1980s aesthetics and sound. He practices traditional martial arts and engages with Eastern philosophical thought. He values meaningful conversations with close friends and colleagues—ideally over a well-chosen bottle of wine.
Chiara Baggetta
Applied Economics Team
Chiara Baggetta (B.A. and M.A. in Economics, University of Genoa and Pavia; PhD in Economics and Political Economy, University of Genoa, 2023) is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Genoa’s HABITAT project and an Adjunct Professor of Economics.
Her research focuses on applied microeconomics, gender, and regional economics, with an emphasis on territorial and social inequalities. She has worked on several European research projects and was a Visiting Research Scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Her recent work includes a publication on gendered urban toponymy in the Italian Economic Journal.
Chiara is skilled in statistical programming and impact evaluation methods, with advanced knowledge of R and Stata.
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Outside of academia, she splits her time between tennis courts, theatre seats, purring cats, and wine-filled evenings with friends.
Gianluca Cerruti
Applied Economics Team
Gianluca Cerruti is Assistant Professor (RTD-A) in Economics at the University of Genoa, where he teaches Economic Policy Evaluation. He coordinates the Applied Economics Team for the ERC-funded HABITAT project. He has held visiting positions at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the London School of Economics, and the Paris School of Economics, and has collaborated with the Feltrinelli Foundation. Gianluca has completed advanced training at the Barcelona School of Economics and the Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies. His research focuses on regional economics, political economy, and law and economics. His work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Regional Science, and the European Journal of Law and Economics. In 2024, he won the Best Paper Prize for Young Economists at the Warsaw International Economic Meeting.
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Outside academia, Gianluca is a passionate football forward, renowned for his flashy moves more than his goal-scoring, and enjoys running, reading, and traveling.
Beatrice Dassori
Legal Analysis Team
Beatrice Dassori holds a Law degree and a Ph.D. in Labour Law from the University of Genoa (Italy). She was a Visiting Researcher at the University of Luxembourg and later a Research Fellow at the University of Bologna, where she worked on a Horizon 2020 project focused on platform work and its regulatory challenges. She is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Genoa, working within the ERC-funded HABITAT project. Her research interests lie in labour law and social rights, with a particular focus on labour exploitation, in-work poverty, and the legal implications of the gig economy. She is especially interested in how legal frameworks can respond to emerging forms of precarious work and digital labour platforms.
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Beatrice is passionate about law, and she also loves horse riding and art.
Allegra Grillo
Legal Analysis Team
Allegra Grillo (B.A., M.A. in Law, Bocconi University) is a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy of Law at the University of Genoa, working within the ERC-funded HABITAT project. She is currently an Academic Fellow at Bocconi University and was previously a Visiting Researcher at King’s College London. Her research focuses on housing studies and empirical legal studies. She co-authored the HABITAT article “The Judicial Response to Rent Controls in Europe: Protecting Property Rights Against State Intervention?”, published in the European Journal of Law and Economics. She is also contributing to ongoing research on legal consciousness, short-term rental regulation, and judicial decisions in housing-related cases.
Her master’s research led to the publication of an article in Teoria e Critica della Regolazione Sociale (2025).
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Outside of her studies, Allegra enjoys watching black-and-white and Swedish films from the 1970s. She is also a full-time creator of trivia contests.
Angelika Kaczmarek
Legal Analysis Team
Angelika Kaczmarek graduated summa cum laude from the Law program at Jagiellonian University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Law and History of Legal Culture at the University of Genoa, as part of the ERC-funded HABITAT project. Her research focuses on access to mortgage credit in the EU, with a particular interest in the economic analysis of law. She has been a Visiting Researcher at Paris Nanterre University and was selected for a research stay at the University of Warsaw through the PROM program, funded by NAWA. She also received the “Grants for the Future” award under Jagiellonian University’s Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative. Angelika is the author of a paper on the development of the EU mortgage market after the Global Financial Crisis.
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Outside academia, Angelika is passionate about ballet, Argentine tango, and enjoys attending opera musicals.
Giorgia Mannaioli
Legal Analysis Team
Giorgia Mannaioli is a postdoctoral researcher collaborating with Professor Alessio Sardo in his ERC-funded research groups at the University of Genoa. She holds a PhD in General and Applied Linguistics from Roma Tre / La Sapienza, and since 2015 has worked on implicit persuasive and manipulative strategies using a pragma-cognitive approach. She has collaborated with various national and international research groups, focusing in particular on the phenomenon of vagueness and its manipulative use in public discourse. Her recent monograph, Vagueness as an Implicitating Persuasive Strategy (John Benjamins), addresses this topic in depth. Giorgia combines theoretical, applied, and experimental approaches, with experience in psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic methods, especially on semantic and pragmatic phenomena. She has also taught courses on the use and recognition of implicit strategies, aimed at both expert and general audiences.
Giorgia practices yoga and meditation, studies sacred texts from different cultures and is interested in any activity that contributes to the path of inner knowledge and awakening.
Arnulfo Daniel Mateos
Legal Analysis Team
Arnulfo Daniel Mateos Durán is a legal scholar specializing in Constitutional Law, International Law, and the Dogmatics of Fundamental Rights. He obtained his Law degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), where he developed an early interest in the intersection between national constitutional frameworks and international human rights protection. He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Heidelberg, earning both an LL.M. and a Ph.D. in Law (Dr. iur.), with a dissertation focused on the limits of fundamental rights in comparative perspective. Since 2019, he has served as an Allied Researcher at the Centro de Estudios Constitucionales of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Mexico), contributing to legal scholarship and institutional reflections on constitutional jurisprudence in Latin America. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Genoa, working within the ERC-funded HABITAT project. His research explores the protection and restriction of fundamental and human rights in multilevel legal systems, with particular attention to the tensions between state sovereignty, international obligations, and emerging social inequalities.
Outside academia, Arnulfo enjoys stargazing, is an avid fan of horror cinema, and a dedicated headphone enthusiast with a passion for high-fidelity audio experiences.
Simone Robbiano
Applied Economics Team
Simone Robbiano (B.Sc. in Economics and Commerce (2012), M.Sc. in Economics and Financial Institutions (2016), Ph.D. in Economics (2020), University of Genoa) is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Genoa within the ERC-funded HABITAT project, where he is part of the Applied Economics Team. He is also Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Genoa (Department of Law) and at the University of Eastern Piedmont, and collaborates on the Advanced Microeconomics module of the Ph.D. program in Economics and Quantitative Methods at Genoa. His research spans industrial organization, innovation, impact analysis, transport, and health economics, with a focus on regional issues. He has taken part in several European research projects and was a Visiting Research Scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. He is also a GLO Fellow and HEDG affiliate. His recent work (2025) includes studies on retail strategies in online marketplaces and the economic effects of high-speed rail. He has expertise in econometrics and impact evaluation, with advanced skills in Stata and GIS.
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Simone likes sharing a good meal with friends, cheering for his favorite football team, and getting lost in the roar of engines.
Research Associates
Daniela Arlia
European Commission's Joint Research Centre
Daniela Arlia is an Economist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and an Associate Member at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics and the University of Genoa, HABITAT Project. She holds a PhD in Economics from Aix-Marseille School of Economics. Previously, she worked as a graduate researcher and consultant for the European Central Bank (Directorate General Economics, Supply, Surveillance, and Labour Division) and for the OECD (Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, Jobs and Income Division). She was also a Research Fellow at the University of Genoa, HABITAT Project, and held visiting positions at the Wharton School of Business (Real Estate Department), Ifo Institute in Munich, and University of Konstanz. Daniela holds a Master of Research in Economics and Policy from the Paris School of Economics and a Master of Science in General Quantitative Economics from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on urban economics, particularly local housing and labour markets.
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A good attitude that Daniela tries to embrace daily: "I don't have to prove anything to anyone, I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. I run my world."- Beyoncé Knowles
Giovanni Botto
University of Genoa
Giovanni Botto is a Research Fellow in Administrative Law at the University of Genoa, working on the PNRR MUR project SERICS, which focuses on cybersecurity, new technologies, and the protection of rights. He holds a PhD in Security, Risk, and Vulnerability from the same university, with a dissertation on climate change adaptation and new technologies. His key publications include the monograph "La tutela della fauna selvatica tra ambientalismo, «animalismo» e principio di responsabilità intergenerazionale" (Giappichelli, 2024), and peer-reviewed articles such as “PNRR e prevenzione amministrativa antimafia: uno sguardo prospettico” (Munus, 2024, 3) and "Arbitrato e pubblica amministrazione: considerazioni a valle della c.d. 'Riforma Cartabia'" (Diritto e processo amministrativo, 2024, 4). Giovanni is an active participant in national and international conferences and a member of the editorial board of the European Review of Digital Administration & Law (ERDAL).
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Outside of work, Giovanni's biggest passion is reading, with a particular fondness for classics and American literature. There's always a book in his backpack! Giovanni also really loves art, listening to music, and mountain walks.
Carolina Castagnetti
University of Pavia
Carolina Castagnetti (B.A., M.A. in Economics, Catholic University of Milan; M.A. in Applied Economics, CORIPE; M.Sc. in Economics, UPF; PhD in Economics, University of Pavia, 2001) is a Full Professor of Economics at the University of Pavia, where she previously held the chair in Econometrics. She has consulted for Oxera Consulting LLP and the Competition Economists Group Europe.
Her research focuses on labor economics, applied econometrics, and gender economics, with a focus on wage differentials, inequality, and panel data methods. She has published in journals such as Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, and Gender & Society. Carolina teaches Microeconometrics and Labor Economics at the University of Pavia and is co-investigator of a project on childbirth and labor market outcomes for migrant and native women in Italy, funded by the VisitINPS Scholars Program.
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Outside academia, Carolina has a deep appreciation for art, music, and reading, and a strong affection for animals—especially horses, cats, and dogs—an affection that, in some cases, is even returned.
Sara Geremia
University of Trieste
Sara Geremia is pursuing a PhD in Applied Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Trieste. Her research focuses on network analysis and clustering, combining methodological advances with real-world applications. Driven by the challenges of interdisciplinary data-driven research, she has actively contributed to several European research projects, while she is currently visiting at University College Dublin in Ireland. With her experience in statistical programming, Sara has advanced skills in R and is proficient in creating static and dynamic reports using Markdown and Shiny.
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Sara enjoys walking nature trails, creative crafts and planning her next travel trip.
Alexandra Gomes
London School of Economics
Alexandra Gomes is a Research Fellow at LSE Cities, coordinating spatial analysis across various projects. She also teaches at the UCL Bartlett School of Planning and LSE Sociology. Her research focuses on socio-spatial analysis, urban policy, inequalities, health, sustainable mobility, public space, and visual communication. With a global perspective, she has led research projects across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Her work includes policy and academic papers, as well as visual contributions like maps, exhibitions, and games that translate complex data into engaging formats.
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Urban enthusiast and street photographer, passionate about capturing the city's sights, sounds, and stories through photography, video, and soundscapes. Alexandra enjoys travelling and loves exploring cities on foot or by bike. She is also passionate about music and food, and have always dreamed of having a small allotment at home.
Marta Santagata
University of Genoa
Marta Santagata (B.A. in International and Diplomatic Sciences, University of Genoa; M.A. in Economics, Politics, and International Institutions, University of Pavia; PhD in Economics, University of Genoa, 2020) is an Assistant Professor in Economics (SECS-P/01) at the University of Genoa. Previously, she was a Researcher at the Department of Economics, University of Genoa, and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at CIELI. She was also a Visiting PhD Researcher at FBK-IRVAPP in Trento.
Her research focuses on regional and urban economics, economic geography, political economy, and public policy evaluation. She has published in Journal of Regional Science, Papers in Regional Science, and Italian Economic Journal.
Marta teaches Microeconomics and has contributed to projects funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and the European Commission. She specializes in econometrics, impact evaluation, and statistical programming, with advanced skills in STATA, R, and GIS-based spatial analysis.
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In life, Marta is a champion runner –whether it’s catching the train or picking up her little one! When she is not racing through the day, Marta loves planning trips with her family, watching movies, and enjoying dinner with friends and good wine.
Administrative Staff
Eva Baraldi
Administrative Team
Maria Teresa Conti
Administrative Team