Luca David Opromolla

Luca David Opromolla is the Owens Distinguished Professor of International Economics at NC State University, holding joint appointments in the Department of Economics and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research focuses on international trade, industrial organization, and labor economics, emphasizing firm dynamics, trade costs, and managerial roles in global operations. He holds prestigious fellowships with CEPR, CESifo, REM UECE (Lisbon), and the Ostrom Workshop (Indiana University).

Opromolla earned his Ph.D. in Economics from New York University (2006), following an MA (2002) and BA (1999) from NYU and Bocconi University, respectively. His recent work examines the refugee crisis’ economic impacts, entrepreneurial optimism, and multinational production dynamics. He has held visiting roles at the University of Maryland and received funding from Portugal’s Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

Key research themes include: firm export decisions vs. foreign direct investment, the role of managerial experience in export success, and quantifying trade/migration policy effects. His work integrates microeconomic firm-level data with macroeconomic frameworks to analyze globalization’s structural impacts.

Scientific contributions include groundbreaking analyses of trade cost estimation, EU enlargement effects, and Portuguese firm productivity. His collaborative projects often bridge theoretical models with empirical datasets to address policy-relevant questions in global economics.