He holds a Master in economics from the CSREAM (Naples, Italy). His research interests include, among others, rural development issues, in particular the behaviour of family farms, agricultural labour and off-farm labour participation. His papers on these topics have been published on the European Review of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics, Cahiers dEconomie et de Sociologie Rurales, Rivista di Economia Agraria, Questione Agraria. He has published over 50 scientific articles, books and monographs. He has worked as a consultant for the European Commission, for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, and for Italian regional administrative bodies.