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Davide Dragone

@davidedragone.bsky.social

740 followers 1K following 120 posts

Professor of Economics, Univ. Bologna Research on risky health behaviors, addiction, obesity, sex work https://sites.google.com/site/davidedragone/

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Economics 61%

Business 12%

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · 17d

Hedgehog of the day. Mints removed. Next, please!

Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Sep 4

@pierluigisacco.bsky.social

Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Aug 19

My daughter is so jealous!

Reposted by Davide Dragone

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 16

"Mussolini himself probably did not know what he was going to do—except stay in power. A parliamentary majority backed the fascist govt at the beginning, & most of the people thought fascism was a temporary interlude... thought Italy could later return to freedom"
www.historians.org/resource/the...

When the king called on Mussolini to form a government in October 1922, very few people in the world had any idea of what was meant by a totalitarian form of government. Mussolini himself probably did not know what he was going to do—except stay in power. A parliamentary majority backed the fascist government at the beginning, and most of the people thought fascism was a temporary interlude. They thought Italy could later return to freedom, and in the meantime fascism could take care of the crisis.

When Mussolini stepped into power, fascism had none of the superior-race, blood-and-soil trappings that came to Germany with Hitlerism. All the other elements of fascism were there, however: belief in violence, disbelief in legal processes, rabid nationalism, and so on. But the regime was not totalitarian in its first three years. Opposition parties were still legal, a strong opposition press operated under difficulties, and Mussolini kept talking about a return to normalcy

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Fabio Sabatini @fabiosabatini.bsky.social · Aug 11

🧵 It sounds like Mao’s China, but it’s the United States of America. From now on, research funding will be screened by government-appointed political commissioners, tasked with assessing whether projects advance the “president’s policy priorities” and align with “American values.”

#EconSky

1/9

Science under Big Brother’s thumb

Trump aims to turn public science into a tool of ideological propaganda. Stripping away scientific autonomy is a way to rewrite reality and entrench authoritarian rule

civiceconomist.substack.com

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Marina Della Giusta @mardelgiu.bsky.social · Aug 2

📢🧵 New paper! #EconTwitter
How does intensive social media use affect puberty timing and risky behaviours in adolescence?
📄 Riskonnected: Social Media, Puberty and Risky Behaviours in Adolescence with Margherita Agnoletto
and Silvia Mendolia #ChildDevelopment #DigitalWellbeing

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Aug 1

Today, I encountered yet another instance where a scholar, influenced by a targeted harassment campaign on social media, formed a misrepresented view of my research after reading certain posts and working papers. How much longer will I have to endure this? 1/2

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Fabio Sabatini @fabiosabatini.bsky.social · Aug 1

La proposta di Meloni di istituire un fondo europeo per sussidiare le imprese esposte ai dazi è sbagliata e dannosa.
Ho provato a spiegarlo nel nuovo post sul mio blog - nonché nuovo episodio del mio podcast. 👇
fabiosabatini.substack.com/p/lautolesio...

L’autolesionismo di Trump e Meloni

Diversamente dalla narrazione dominante, l’UE non è stata umiliata e Trump ha solo danneggiato l'economia americana. Ma la proposta miope e autolesionista di Meloni rischia di ribaltare la situazione

fabiosabatini.substack.com

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 30

#econsky #healtheconomics @libertadgonzalez.bsky.social @mardelgiu.bsky.social

Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 30

Me gustaría escribir en castellano un breve hilo sobre una vivencia negativa de los últimos meses. En marzo del 2024 publiqué un artículo que encontraba que la prohibición de la compra de la prostitución en Suecia aumentaba las violaciones de entre el 40 y el 60% 1/N

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 30

The academic community must stand against misinformation and protect researchers from being unjustly targeted. N/N #AcademicIntegrity #AcademicSky #EconSky

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Reposted by Steven Pressman, Mirco Tonin, Davide Dragone

Mirco Tonin @mircotonin.bsky.social · Jul 21

JOB AD: @fbk-irvapp.bsky.social in #Trento (Italy) is looking for a #Researcher in Quantitative Public #Policy Evaluation to conduct (quasi)experimental evaluation research across different policy areas. 2Y+ contract - apply by 18/08 - Please, REPOST #EconSky LINK: jobs.fbk.eu/Annunci/Offe...

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 21

My article for
@i4replication.bsky.social
is now online! econstor.eu/bitstream/10... In it, I apply the methodology from Adema, Folke & Rickne (2025a) to Ciacci’s (2025) sample. Results are statistically indistinguishable from Ciacci (2024) and robust to multiple checks, including: 1/N

econstor.eu

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 18

The thread below further illustrates the original decision made by the scientific committee — a decision that was only overturned following a social media harassment campaign, setting a troubling precedent that such campaigns can pressure 1/2

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 17

I hope someone at @springernature.com still values #ScientificIntegrity enough to uphold the original decision of the impartial scientific committee—rather than capitulating to the biased outcome driven by a 16-month social media harassment campaign.

#EconSky

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 17

#healtheconomics #econsky

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 17

I feel overwhelmed and trapped in a David vs. Goliath battle, fighting simply to restore the original, unbiased outcome determined by the scientific committee. The system failed; truth and due process lost to mob tactics.

Any advice on how to confront this? Solidarity and suggestions welcome. 2/3

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 11

*Chronicle of an Ideological Harassment Campaign Foretold*

This short thread outlines how a harassment campaign overruled a scientific decision made by scholars in a @springernature.com journal.

In March 2024, two Swedish academics posted harassing tweets 1/N

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 16

It is deeply disheartening to witness a campaign that, from the outset, sought to retract my work simply because it disagreed with the findings. Rather than engaging in a constructive debate (advancing the literature), critics seized on issues with the replication code as a pretext to justify 1/3

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 16

@mardelgiu.bsky.social

Reposted by Davide Dragone

Marina Della Giusta @mardelgiu.bsky.social · Jul 15

We contributes to the economics of:
➡️Sexual behavior
➡️Human capital
➡️Gender
➡️Labor
➡️Fertility
📄: @https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/18002/an-economic-theory-of-sexual-exchanges-and-human-capital Feedback welcome! @scottcunningham.bsky.social @draliceevans.bsky.social

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Marina Della Giusta @mardelgiu.bsky.social · Jul 15

🧠 We contribute a unified rational choice framework that:
🔬Encompasses paid sex and marriage
🔬Explains segregation in sex markets
🔬Models sexual activity and fertility as time allocations
🔬Endogenizes gendered outcomes via norms and human capital

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Marina Della Giusta @mardelgiu.bsky.social · Jul 15

📉 Our model explains the decline in unpaid sex and fertility: As digital sex (porn, platforms, AI) lowers the cost of paid sex, people reallocate time away from intimacy....
👉 Less unpaid sex
👉 Lower fertility
👉 More demand for paid sex

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Marina Della Giusta @mardelgiu.bsky.social · Jul 15

📢📢📢 Why are sex markets gendered? Why is sexual activity declining even as norms liberalize? Finally a general economic theory that unifies paid sex and marriage. 👉 An Economic Theory of Sexual Exchanges and Human Capital #gender #humancapital #fertility
@davidedragone.bsky.social and Elias Carroni

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 15

amsacta.unibo.it/id/eprint/84...

Workin paper: An Economic Theory of Sexual Exchanges and Human Capital, by Elias Carroni, Marina Della Giusta, Davide Dragone
July 11, 2025
Abstract
We propose a unified economic model of sexual exchanges that treats both unpaid and paid sex as outcomes of individual time allocation decisions. Departing from existing literature that separates sex into marital relations or specialized markets, the model incorporates
relational skills, gender norms, and labor market opportunities. It explains gender patterns in the supply and demand of paid sex and offers a rationale for declining sexual activity despite liberal norms. The framework accounts for behavioral responses to shocks, prices,
and wage differentials, and can inform policy debates on gender inequality, fertility, and regulation of sex markets

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 15

Two puzzles:
1- ̲𝙿̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚒̲̲𝚍̲ ̲𝚜̲̲𝚎̲̲𝚡̲ ̲𝚖̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚛̲̲𝚔̲̲𝚎̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚜̲: Why are men buyers and women sellers?
2- Why are ̲𝚜̲̲𝚎̲̲𝚡̲̲𝚞̲̲𝚊̲̲𝚕̲ ̲𝚊̲̲𝚌̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚒̲̲𝚟̲̲𝚒̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚢̲ ̲𝚊̲̲𝚗̲̲𝚍̲ ̲𝚏̲̲𝚎̲̲𝚛̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚒̲̲𝚕̲̲𝚒̲̲𝚝̲̲𝚢̲ declining?

For a possible answer, check our new wp "𝐀𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬", with @mardelgiu.bsky.social , E. Carroni

Link ⬇️ Please retweet 😜
#healtheconomics #econsky

amsacta.unibo.it

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 11

This is so worrying and so bad for JOPE's reputation. I thought retractions were the consequence of fraud, not of senior professors not liking certain results #healteconomics #econsky

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Davide Dragone @davidedragone.bsky.social · Jul 11

I will suggest my junior researchers to avoid JOPE to avoid receiving the same treatment received by @riccardociacci.bsky.social #healtheconomics #econsky

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jul 3

The retraction of my article is based on false claims and should be withdrawn. @springernature.com

We need transparency and fairness in research—not silence and intimidation. Thank you for your support. 🙌

#AcademicTwitter #ResearchIntegrity #StopBullyingInAcademia 4/4

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Reposted by Davide Dragone

Ricardo Ciacci Strina @riccardociacci.bsky.social · Jun 30

I conduct research in good faith and I feel obliged to report a harassment, character assassination and stalking campaign that has lasted over a year, of which I have been a target. This campaign has been disproportionate and damaging. 1/N

Olle Folke @ollefolke.bsky.social · May 15

Update: We submitted the comment to the Journal of Population Economics, and today we got a desk reject with this motivation. However, we do not know their conclusion about the main results and why the paper was not retracted. Clearly, they do not hold. 1/4

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