Ongoing Research

Working Papers

"The forgotten NEETs"
Co-authored with Tito Boeri (Bocconi University) and Edoardo Cattaneo (Fondazione Rodolfo De Benedetti)
Working Abstract: European policies for the youngsters have been targeting the NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). Significant resources, given the limited EU budget, have been allotted to programs providing slots in active labor market policies (ALMPs) to the NEETs, and countries with higher than EU average NEET rates are requested to devote at least 12,5 % of European Social Fund resources to tackle this problem. Is this emphasis on the NEETs and on ALMPs as key policy tool dealing with them justified? Drawing on a variety of micro datasets on Italy (the country with the largest incidence of NEETs), in this paper we document that putting together active (actively seeking employment) and inactive (not actively seeking employment) NEETs is misleading. Labor shortage is likely to absorb a significant portion of active NEETs, while the challenge for policies is how to mobilize inactive NEETs. Based on the Italian experience with the European Youth Guarantee (YG) policy, we find that failure to address structural impediments to participation, such as the mental health status and caregiving responsibilities, notably of young women, makes the YG largely ineffective for those who need it most.

"No Union for young men: European youth’s euroscepticism and support for the far-right"
Co-authored with Catherine De Vries (Bocconi University) and Luca Di Casola (IEP@BU)
Working Abstract: To explain right-wing populism and euroscepticism, most scholars tend to focus on the economic and cultural grievances of older generations. Recently, attention has shifted to young people’s support for the radical right. In this paper, we exploit the recent European Election Study 2024 to show that considerable segmentsof younger Europeans hold stronger Eurosceptic positions, are shifting rightward, and turning out in support of the far right more than older generations. The effect is substantially driven by young men. Some common predictors of pro-EU and liberal positions among adults - university education, high-living standards, and strong political interest – are not associated with pro-EU liberalism among the young. The youth gender gap is associated with polarization in both cultural and economic attitudes, with young men holding more conservative positions than young women. Such attitude polarization partially explains the gender gap in Euroscepticism, but not in far-right support. Our findings suggest that intra-generational cleavages may characterize the future of European democracy..

"Productivity and Substitutability: a New View on Immigrant Assimilation"
Co-authored with Joseph-Simon Görlach (Bocconi University and IGIER)
Working Abstract: Immigrants’ assimilation is often measured by wage growth, confounding two forces: an adaptation of skills that raises immigrants’ productivity, and increasing substitutability with earlier immigrants and natives, putting downward pressure on wages. We decompose wage growth and estimate these components for the U.S. Since immigration and emigration are endogenous to wage growth, we instrument immigrant numbers with economic conditions in countries of origin. Results show that both skill growth and substitutability progress as migrants assimilate, that skill growth exceeds wage growth, and that small positive short-run effects of immigration on natives’ wages dissipate as immigrants become more substitutable.

"Skilled but Precarious: Wage Effects of Liberalization in Skill-Enhancing Contracts"
Working Abstract: With the growing focus on skills, dual contracts such as internships and apprenticeships are being promoted as hybrid training-working opportunities for young workers to enter the labor market. Workers, however, also have a preference for job stability and do not value these training contracts equally. In this paper, I focus on the effect of the expansion of more precarious opportunities, such as internships, on the wage of more stable long-term contracts, such as apprenticeships. I develop a simple model whereby two effects can be simultaneously at play when new legislation increases the share of precarious contracts that can be activated: 1) a selection effect in- creases the average wage of permanent contracts since the most productive workers are offered a permanent contract; 2) a dumping effect decreases the average wage since entrant workers are willing to bargain lower wages in exchange for the stability of a permanent contract. Using the latest legislative change to internships in Italy, I am able to exploit interregional variation and estimate the overall effect on apprenticeship wages, revealing that the dumping effect is prevalent.

Aprea, M., Braga, M., Galeone, P., & Raitano, M. (2025) "Thriving, not just surviving: Shaping effective minimum income systems in Europe". Caritas Europa CARES Report series, 2025, co-funded by the European Commission.
Galeone, P. (2025). "Skill Overkill: The EU Needs More Than Just More Training". IEP@BU Policy Brief n.38, March 2025.
Galeone, P., & Gros, D. (2024). Invertire la piramide: istruzione e declino demografico. Bancaria monthly, ed. 2024 n. 9, ISSN 0005-4623.
Galeone, P. & Privinzano, L. (2024). "From Data to Action: an Evidence-Based Approach to Anti-Poverty in the EU". Policy Brief Bocconi, november 2024.
Galeone, P., & Gros, D. (2024). "Monetary Policy and Regime Shifts in the Inflation Process". Available at SSRN 4700374.
Galeone, P., & Gros, D. (2023). "Discussion on monetary policy in the face of supply shocks: the role of inflation expectations." European Central Bank, Sintra 2023 Forum proceedings.