Personal Information and Contacts
Languages: Italian (native), English (fluent), Spanish (fluent), French (average)
Married, three children (born in 2010, 2013 and 2015).
+39-051-2098492; m.cervellati@unibo.it [mailto:m.cervellati@unibo.it], www2.dse.unibo.it/cervellati
Education and Research Affiliations
Ph.D in Economics Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 2005
Research Fellow: CEPR, London, IZA Bonn and CESIfo Munich
Fields of Interest. Long-Run Economic Growth, Political economics, Comparative Development, Theory and Empirics of Social Conflicts, Democratization and Institutional Change, Economic analysis of Culture, Moral Values and Religious Institutions, Economic History.
Edited Book: Demographic Change and Long-Run Development (editor with Uwe Sunde), MIT Press 2017
Refereed Publications (Journals)
- Epidemic Shocks and Civil Violence: Evidence from Malaria Outbreaks , in Africa (with Esposito and Sunde), REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS, forthcoming
- The timing of the demographic transition and economic growth (with Meyerheim and Sunde) ECONOMICS LETTERS, 2019, 181, pp. 43 - 46
- Trade Liberalization, Democratization and Technology Adoption (with A. Naghavi and F. Toubal) JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH, Lead Article Volume 23, Issue 2, June 2018
- Pathogens, Weather Shocks and Civil Conflicts (with U. Sunde and S. Valmori). New version of Disease Environment and Civil Conflicts; THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Vol. 127, Issue 607, Pages 2581-2616, December 2017
- Demographic Dynamics and Long-Run Development: Insights for the Secular Stagnation Debate(with U. Sunde and K.F. Zimmermann), JOURNAL OF POPULATION ECONOMICS, 2017 vol. 30(2), pages 401-432
- Long-Term Exposure to Malaria and Development: Disaggregate Evidence for Contemporaneous Africa (with Esposito and Sunde). JOURNAL OF DEMOGRAPHIC ECONOMICS, 2017 - 83(1), 129-148
- The Economic and Demographic Transition, Mortality, and Comparative Development 2015 (with U. Sunde) AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL: MACROECONOMICS 7(3), pages 189-225, July. Selected for Research Highlight by the AEA.
- Income and Democracy: Comment (with M. Jung F. Sunde U. Visher T.) THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW 2014, February vol. 104(2), pp 707-19.
- The Effect of Life Expectancy on Education and Population Dynamics 2015 (with U. Sunde) EMPIRICAL ECONOMICS, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1445-1478, June.
- Democratizing for Peace? The Effect of Democratization on Civil Conflicts 2014 (with U. Sunde) OXFORD ECONOMIC PAPERS, Oxford University Press, vol. 66(3), pages 774-797.
- Civil Conflict, Democratization, and Growth: Violent Democratization as Critical Juncture 2014 (with U. Sunde) SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(2), pages 482-505, 04.
- Democratization and Civil Liberties: The Role of Violence During the Transition 2014 (with P. Fortunato and U. Sunde) EUROPEAN ECONOMIC REVIEW; Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pp 226-247.
- Life Expectancy, Schooling, and Lifetime Labor Supply: Theory and Evidence Revisited (with U. Sunde) ECONOMETRICA 2013, pp. 2055–2086 Vol.81, No.5
- Thou shalt not covet ...: Crime, Temptations and Moral Values (with P. Vanin) JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS 15-28, (103), 2013
- Democratization and the Rule of Law (with P. Fortunato and U. Sunde), BE JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL ECONOMICS,1-39, 2012
- The Distribution of Infectious Agents and Extrinsic Mortality Across Countries (with S. Valmori and U. Sunde) MATHEMATICAL POPULATION STUDIES 19(2) 73-93, 2012.
- Disease and Development: The Role of Life Expectancy Reconsidered(with U. Sunde) ECONOMICS LETTERS 113(3), December, 269-272, 2011
- Life Expectancy and Economic Growth: The Role of The Demographic Transition (with U. Sunde) THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC GROWTH 2011
- Work Values, Endogenous Sentiments and Redistribution (with J. Esteban and L. Kranich), JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS (94) 612-627, 2010
- Hobbes to Rousseau: Inequality, Institutions and Development (joint with P. Fortunato and U. Sunde), THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, 18 (August), 1354–1384, 2008
- Are all Democracies Equally Good: on the Role of the Interaction between Inequality and Democracy (with U. Sunde and P. Fortunato), ECONOMICS LETTERS, 99 (3), 552-556, 2008
- Human Capital Formation, Life Expectancy, and the Process of Development (joint with U. Sunde), THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW 95(5), pp. 1653-1672, 2005.
Ongoing Research
- Malaria Risk and Civil Violence: A Disaggregate Analysis for Africa (with E. Esposito, U. Sunde and S. Valmori) mimeo
- “Bite and Divide”: Malaria and Ethno-Linguistic Diversity (with G. Chiovelli and E. Esposito), mimeo
- Transition from Stagnation to Growth: Democratization and the Demographic Transition (with G. Meyerheim and U. Sunde), mimeo
- The Legacy of Inclusive Political Institutions in History: Disaggregated Analysis for Italy 1000‐1800 (with P. Buonanno, S. Lazzaroni and G. Prarolo).
- Political Fragmentation and Local Fiscal Policies: Exploiting a New Instrument (with G. Gulino and P. Roberti) mimeo
- Long-Term Exposure to Malaria and Violence in Africa (with E. Esposito, U. Sunde and S. Valmori)
- Health Shocks, Population Dynamics and Economic Development in Pre-Industrial Europe 1000-1800 (with S. Lazzaroni and G. Prarolo)
- On the Emergence and Economic Role of Religious Norms: A Simple Theory with an Empirical Application to the Protestant Reformation (with U. Sunde)
Teaching
- Macroeconomics (2003-2013). BA International Science and Diplomacy
- Theory of Institutions, Growth and Development (from 2006). Master International Science and Diplomacy
- Theory and Empirics of Comparative Development (from 2013). LMEC, Economics Bologna
- Comparative Development, Institutions and Demography (from 2009). PhD Economics, Bologna.
- Political Economics of Institutional Change and Comparative Development, Guest Course, LMU Munich 2015
Other Research Related Activities
Director of the PhD in Economics, Bologna. (since 2013). Webpage: www.phdeco.unibo.it
Refereeing Activity
- Journals: (Selected) American Economic Review, Canadian Journal of Economics, Demography, Econometrica, Economica, Economic Inquiry, Economic Journal, Economics and Politics, European Economic Review, Explorations in Economic History, International Economic Review, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of the European Economic Association, Journal of European Political Economy, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Population Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Public Economic Theory, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Labor Economics, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Research in Economics, Review of Economics Studies, Review of Economics and Statistics, World Bank Economic Review, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Theoretical Economics.
- Evaluation of Research of Public Universities: Referee for VQR2013 Italy, FNRS2014 Belgium.
- PhD Committees: UPF Barcelona 2007, Strasbourg 2007, UCLouvain 2009 and 2011, Copenhagen 2013
- Scientific Committee Conferences: Meeting of Young Economists 2005, Geneve, ESEM-EEA 2008-2011.
Editorial Activity.
- Co-Editor of The BE Journal of Theoretical Economics (De Gruyer) from 2014 until July 2015;
- Associate Editor of the Journal of Demographic Economics (Cambridge University Press),
- Co-editor of “Demographic Change and Long Term Development” (with Uwe Sunde, forthcoming) CESIfo, MIT Press Forthcoming.
Funded Projects (Principal Investigator: PI)
- "The Legacy of Institutions for Long Term Development" PRIN 2015, PI
- “Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Conflicts and Crime” PRIN 2012, PI.
- “Subnational Comparative Development” FARB University of Bologna 2013-2014.
- “Mortality, conflict and development: a theoretical and empirical investigation of the interactions between demographic and economic development” financed by Eief Rome 2008-2010, PI.
- "Inequality and Development" For young researchers of Excellence financed by the University of Bologna for the period 2007-today, PI.
- “The consequences of Population Aging” FIRB 2010-2013
- “Political Institutions and Demographic Dynamics”, PRIN 2008-2010
- Polarization and Conflict European Project (VI) 2004-2008.
Organized Workshops (Selected)
Workshop on Civil Conflicts 2014 (LMU Munich), Demographic Change and Long-Run Development (2014 CESIfo Summer Institute), Seminar DSE Bologna (2007-2009), BOMOPA Workshops (2006-2015), IZA Workshop Demographic Change and Secular Transitions on Labor Markets, Bonn (2006), GS Seminar Series UPF (2000-2001).
Presentations to Workshops, Seminars and Conferences (Selected. from the oldest)
Workshop on "Demographic Change" IZA (Bonn), Workshop on Polarization and Conflict (Cordoba and Palma de Mallorca), NBER Summer Institute on Social Interactions and Growth (Boston), Eief Seminar (Roma), Seminar, LSE/UCL Development and Growth Seminar Series (London), ASSET (Firenze), Political Economics Seminar Igier (Milano), Development Policy Seminar DESA United Nations (New York), Simposio de Analisis Economico (Zaragoza), Workshop “Rags to riches” (Barcelona), AEA (San Francisco), Econometric Society North American Meeting, (San Francisco), UCLA Anderson (Los Angeles), ESPE Conference (London), Conflict and Development Workshop (Namur), Seminar Helsinki School of Economics (Helsinki), Seminar Uppsala University (Uppsala), ESEM (Barcelona), LAMES-LACEA (Buenos Aires), Seminar IMT (Lucca), Health and Macroeconomics (Madrid), Determinants of Conflicts (Madrid), Workshop on Economics of Culture, Institutions and Crime (Milan), NBER Summer Institute (Boston), Worskhop Towards Sustained Growth (Barcelona), Eaa-Esem (Oslo), the Zeuthen Political Economic Workshop (Copenhagen), the Vienna Institute of Demography (Vienna), Seminar (Copenhagen), the Workshop on Cultural change and Economic Growth (Munich), the RES Conference (Cambridge), the Long Run Growth Conference (Warwick), Persistence in Economic History (Munich), Long Term Development (Brown, US 2014, 2016, 2017). Workshop on Civil Conflicts (LMU Munich), EIEF Seminar 2014, NBER Summer Institute 2015, Workshop on Culture and Institutions (LMU Munich), EP Panel Meetings, Brussels.
