Francesco Vona

Francesco Vona is Professor of Economics in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Milan, and Program Director for Labour in the Low-Carbon Transition at Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM). He also serves as a Visiting Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE. His research focuses on the critical intersection of environmental and labor economics.

Dr. Vona received his education at the University of Rome La Sapienza, where he studied Statistics and Economics, completed his Ph.D., and began his academic career as a post-doctoral research fellow. His teaching experience spans multiple prestigious institutions including Sciences-Po, SKEMA Business School, University Nice Cote d'Azur, and Ca' Foscari University of Venice across undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels.

Professor Vona's research examines the labor market impacts of environmental policies, measurement of green jobs and skills, green comparative advantage, and trade effects on emissions. He has participated in numerous European projects and currently leads the Sciences-Po team in the EU H2020 project Innopaths. His work combines rigorous empirical analysis with practical policy implications for the clean energy transition.

His recent publications consistently analyze the relationship between carbon policies and labor market outcomes, utilizing firm-level data to demonstrate how environmental regulations affect employment, wages, and skills requirements. His research reveals that costs in terms of job losses from energy price increases are substantially smaller than the environmental benefits in terms of reduced carbon emissions.

Professor Vona has contributed to significant policy discussions on green skills shortages threatening Europe's climate ambitions. His collaborative work provides evidence on characteristics of low-carbon jobs and potential skills gaps emerging in specific labor markets affected by the low-carbon transition.

He actively participates in research initiatives and has an upcoming presentation scheduled for April 18, 2024 on 'Financing constraints, climate policies and carbon emissions,' demonstrating his ongoing contribution to understanding the socioeconomic dimensions of environmental policy implementation.