Publications 

When fiscal discipline meets macroeconomic stability: the Euro-stability bond (2025)

Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money with Luciano Greco and Davide Raggi. 

We study the consequences of introducing an Euro-stability bond mechanism that implies sovereign debt mutualization in the Eurozone without any significant short-term redistribution across countries or perverse incentives to fiscal profligacy. In a simple structural model of the economy, we theoretically show that this mechanism is able to reproduce the market fiscal discipline while increasing the social welfare of all countries with respect to the real market discipline. Relying on a GVAR model including 10 Eurozone countries, U.S., Japan and China, we then analyse the future evolution of public debt (and other key macroeconomic variables) over time by comparing the predicted forecast in the baseline and in a counterfactual scenarios with the Euro-stability bond. We find no significant differences in the future path of public debt-to-GDP ratios in the two cases, but a consistent reduction in the forecast’s uncertainty in the counterfactual scenario. The reduced uncertainty of forecasts of public debt and other macroeconomic variables highlights the potential capacity of the Euro-stability bond to immunize the Eurozone from classical macroeconomic instability shocks that derive by the very existence of high sovereign debts and the related significant rollover and contagion risks in a framework of decentralized fiscal policies. To this extent, we finally exploit the results of the GVAR model to assess the capacity of the proposed scheme to reduce the probability of adverse macroeconomic events.

[Presented at ICMAIF 2022, EUROFRAME 2022, XXXIV SIEP, ICEA Money-macro Conference, UECE Conference]. 

Valuing drinking water quality after a PFAS contamination event: results from a meta-analysis benefit transfer (2024) 

Journal of Environmental Management  

Drawing upon an extensive body of valuation literature focused on water quality, this paper performs a meta analysis benefit transfer exercise aimed at quantifying willingness to pay (WTP) for an enhancement in drinking water quality for households that have been directly exposed to Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) over recent decades in Italy. The analysis compiles metadata of 72 WTP estimates extracted from 40 previous valuation studies conducted in advanced economies. The benefit transfer is realized estimating a meta regression model (MRM) which includes both study design and socio-economic explanatory variables, according to the Weak Structural Utility Theoretic approach. To determine the most suitable MRM specification, a comparative evaluation of various model configurations is developed exploiting the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) selection criterion, and assessing their predictive performances in terms of transfer error and explanatory power. The mean transfer error (MTE) and the adjusted R-squared of the preferred MRM are in line with past published meta-analyses (0.665 and 0.607, respectively). The parameters estimated in the model align with both economic theory and intuition. The benefit transfer process results in an estimated annual WTP of € 250.80 per household for improved drinking water quality in the PFAS-affected area and an aggregated value of social benefits from PFAS decontamination of around € 12 million.

[Presented at: IAERE 2022 and EAERE 2022]

Working Papers 

• Pintus, F. J., Jacobs, J., Sterken, E. (2024). Fiscal Impacts of Climate Anomalies. [Presented at: ESIF - CLIM 2025 BSE, 2025 Energy and Climate Economics Day Groningen, EAERE 2025 Conference, IAAE 2025 Conference] [CESifo Working Paper] (STATUS: Under Review)
• Amadei, C. , Dosi, C., Pintus, F.J. (2024). Energy Intensity and Structural Changes: Does Offshoring Matter? [Presented at: IAERE 2023, IAEE Conference 2024, FSR Climate Annual Conference, PhD Workshop in Economics Torino, AIEE Symposium] [FEEM Working Paper]            (STATUS: Under Review)

Works in progress                         

• Does Pension Policy Uncertainty deteriorate the Fiscal Sustainability of Public Retirement Schemes? Evidence from the Italian Case (2024) with Luciano Greco.  [Presented at PET Conference 2024]