I am an Economist at the USC Center for Economic and Social Research and Assistant (Research) Professor at the USC Economics Department. I earned my Ph.D. in economics from University College London in 2011. My research interests span across labor economics, applied microeconomics, economics of aging, and financial economics. My current projects focus on household finance and saving behavior, portfolio choices, retirement planning, spending and use of payment methods, as well as health investment over the life cycle. I also investigate the role of cognitive ability and financial literacy in shaping household asset allocation decisions and expectations about future asset returns. Another strand of my work examines different aspects of survey methodology, from sampling and weighting techniques, measurement properties of questions aiming at eliciting household income, wealth, and expenditure, to harmonization of data across surveys for cross-country analysis. I am currently involved in the design and implementation of the sampling and weighting procedures for the Understanding America Study and in the development of the Gateway to Global Aging Data project.

Ph.D. Economics, University College London, 2011
M.S. Economics, University College London, 2004
B.A. Political Economy, University of Siena, 2002

Assistant (Research) Professor, USC, Economics Department , 2020
Lecturer, USC, Economics Department, 2015-2019
Economist, USC Center for Economic and Social Research, 2014
Associate Economist, USC Center for Economic and Social Research, 2013-2014
Professor, Pardee RAND Graduate School, 2011-2015
Associate Economist, RAND Corporation, 2010-2013