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Research
New Assistant Professor
Pietro Biroli
Pietro Biroli joins the University of Zurich as
Assistant Professor of Economics. He will be
affiliated with the UBS Center. His primary
fields of research include health economics,
labor economics, econometrics, human
capital, and early childhood. His main area
of expertise covers the process of health
and human capital development in children
and adolescents. His research aims to
understand the mechanisms through which
effective interventions and optimal choices
of investment can help promote human
development.
Pietro, is there a connection between the Body-
Mass-Index (BMI) and success on the labor market?
Pietro Biroli:
Certainly. Various studies have shown
that obese individuals have a harder time finding a
job, tend to be less productive and more absent from
work, and overall earn equal or lower wages than
normal weight adults. In children, obesity has been
linked to delayed skill acquisition. Furthermore, let’s
not forget the negative health consequences of obe-
sity, spanning from higher risk of diabetes and cancer
all the way to higher mortality. Obesity can really
harm your potential for success.
What are your insights on early
–
childhood educa-
tion?
Early–childhood education provides a fertile ground
both for policy and for research. From a policy per-
spective, investing in high–quality early–childhood
programs represents a forward-looking intervention,
which can improve the well–being of children and
families, and grant very high returns in the long run.
From a research standpoint, many interesting ques-
tions arise as more interdisciplinary groups dig into
this topic: What are the essential features of a suc-
cessful education program? Are quality and scalabil-
ity compatible? What is the role of early–childhood
health? Does health prevention pay off? etc.
What research projects are you currently working on?
Currently I am collaborating on a project financed
by the Jacobs foundation to evaluate the returns on
attending the Reggio Children preschools, an iconic
high-quality early–childhood education program
available on a universal basis for the past 50 years in
Reggio Emilia, Italy. I am also starting a new inter-
disciplinary project testing whether socio-economic
status can moderate the effects of risky genetic vari-
ants related to addictive behaviors, such as drinking
and smoking.
Why would you recommend a bright young student
to take up economic studies?
First of all, cover your basics: an economics degree
gives you good chances of finding a high-paying job,
and is therefore a smart investment. Secondly, and
most importantly, you might even like it: economics
is a good tool to analyze and understand the world
around you, from small–scale interactions between
peers, workers, and firms to large-scale connections
between countries or multinational corporations.
Pietro Biroli studied Economics in Italy (Bocconi
University), Belgium (Université catholique de
Louvain), and Chicago, and received his PhD from
the University of Chicago. His work experiences
include the Directorate General for Economics and
Financial Affairs (ECFIN) of the European Com-
mission. He received numerous honors and
awards, among them a Jacobs Foundation Re-
search Support and a Field Research Funding
Award from the University of Chicago. He also
won the PhD Student Paper Competition of the
Illinois Economic Association in 2014.
Pietro is a referee at the
Journal of Political Econ-
omy,
the
Journal of Human Resources,
and
Ap-
plied Health Economics and Health Policy
. His
articles were published in
Empirica, Economic
Policy
and
Intereconomics
. He is currently starting
a new interdisciplinary project testing whether
socio-economic status can moderate the effects of
risky genetic variants related to addictive behaviors.