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/
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
davidedragone.bsky.social
Hedgehog of the day. Mints removed. Next, please!
Hedgehog
davidedragone.bsky.social
My daughter is so jealous!
Reposted by Davide Dragone
aaronsojourner.org
"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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
fabiosabatini.bsky.social
🧵 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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mardelgiu.bsky.social
📢🧵 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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
The academic community must stand against misinformation and protect researchers from being unjustly targeted. N/N #AcademicIntegrity #AcademicSky #EconSky
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
A short thread on the main findings might be found here:

bsky.app/profile/ricc...
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mircotonin.bsky.social
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...
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
This is the core issue highlighted by this event: If you are a senior professor and dislike an article's findings or a scientific committee's decision, you can overrule them—even forcing a retraction—through a harassment campaign on social media.This seems possible with @springernature.com journals
davidedragone.bsky.social
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
davidedragone.bsky.social
#healtheconomics #econsky
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
It’s been almost a month since the unjust retraction was forced through—a decision not made by the scientific committee, but pushed by those who waged a 16-month online harassment campaign against my work.

1/3
riccardociacci.bsky.social
*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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
riccardociacci.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mardelgiu.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mardelgiu.bsky.social
🧠 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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mardelgiu.bsky.social
📉 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
Reposted by Davide Dragone
mardelgiu.bsky.social
📢📢📢 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