Dr. Bruno Martorano


Associate Professor

Research group(s):
7. Social Protection
4. Governance and institutions
6. Migration and Development

Bruno Martorano is an Associate Professor at UNU-MERIT (Maastricht University). Bruno`s research interests include development economics, inequality, political participation, structural transformation, taxation and social protection. Exploring micro and macro issues and using different econometric techniques, Bruno`s work contributes to the political economy literature that seeks to understand how it is possible to create a sustainable and inclusive process of economic development. The ultimate goal of his research is to produce results that have practical and actionable implications for policy. Bruno`s recent research is organized around two major themes. His first area of research investigates how we can encourage economic transformation and development with equity.  Bruno`s second area of research focuses on how shocks – such as financial or trade liberalization or the recent COVID-19 pandemic – may increase or accelerate inequalities and provoke social and political instability, which, in turn, may undermine long-term economic growth.

Prior to join UNU-MERIT, Bruno has worked at the ETH Zurich - NADEL Center for Development and Cooperation in Zurich, Institute of Development Studies in Brighton, UNICEF Office of Research in Florence and the University of Florence, and has held consultancies for the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of Antwerp, UNCTAD, UNU-WIDER, UNIDO, UNDP and the World Bank. He holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Florence.

 

More information on Bruno`s research on:

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=yslreIcAAAAJ&hl=it
REPEC/IDEAS: https://ideas.repec.org/f/pma2054.html

 




Selected publications by Bruno Martorano


Articles (journal, professional, popular)
Röthlisberger, Claudia, Franziska Gassmann, Wim Groot & Bruno Martorano, 2022, The contribution of personality traits and social norms to the gender pay gap: A systematic literature review, Journal of Economic Surveys, Online, DOI: 10.1111/joes.12501, More information
Giuffrida, Valerio, Stephan Dietrich, Bruno Martorano & Georg Schmerzeck, 2021, COVID?19 policy responses, mobility, and food prices, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, More information
Gassmann, Franziska, Bruno Martorano & Jennifer Waidler, 2021, How Social Assistance Affects Subjective Wellbeing: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan, The Journal of Development Studies, Online, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2021.1988079, More information
Iacoella, Francesco, Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger & Marco Sanfilippo, 2021, Chinese official finance and political participation in Africa, European Economic Review, 136, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103741, More information
Martorano, Bruno, Laura Metzger & Marco Sanfilippo, 2020, Chinese development assistance and household welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Development, 129, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104909
Haraguchi, Nobuya, Bruno Martorano, Marco Sanfilippo & Anirudh Shingal, 2019, Manufacturing Growth Accelerations in Developing Countries, Review of Development Economics, 23(4): 1696-1724, More information
Justino, Patricia & Bruno Martorano, 2019, Redistributive Preferences and Protests in Latin America, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 63(9): 2128-2154, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002719827370, More information
Haraguchi, Nobuya, Bruno Martorano & Marco Sanfilippo, 2019, What factors drive successful industrialization? Evidence and implications for developing countries, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 49: 266-276, DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2018.11.002, More information
Justino, Patricia & Bruno Martorano, 2018, Welfare spending and political conflict in Latin America, 1970–2010, World Development, 107: 98-110, DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.005, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2018, Taxation and inequality in developing countries: Lessons from the recent experience of Latin America, Journal of International Development, 30(2): 256-273, DOI: 10.1002/jid.3350, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2018, Cyclicality of Fiscal Policy in Latin America over the period 1990 - 2015, Review of Development Economics, 22(1): 67-90, DOI: 10.1111/rode.12329, More information
Martorano, Bruno, Donghyun Park & Marco Sanfilippo, 2017, Catching-up, structural transformation, and inequality: Industry-level evidence from Asia, Industrial and Corporate Change, 26(4), DOI: 10.1093/icc/dtw039, More information
Martorano, Bruno, Donghyun Park & Marco Sanfilippo, 2017, Catching-up, structural transformation, and inequality: industry-level evidence from Asia, Industrial and Corporate Change, 26(4): 555-570, More information
Gaventa, J. & Bruno Martorano, 2016, Inequality, Power and Participation – Revisiting the Links, IDS Bulletin, 47(5): 11-29, More information
Handa, S., Bruno Martorano, C. Halpern, A. Pettifor & H. Thirumurthy, 2016, Time Discounting and Credit Market Access in a Large Scale Cash Transfer Program, Journal of African Economics, 25(3): 367-387, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2015, Lessons from the recent economic crisis: the Australian household stimulus package, International Review of Applied Economics, 29(3): 309-327, More information
Martorano, Bruno & Marco Sanfilippo, 2015, Structural change and wage inequality in the manufacturing sector: long run evidence from East Asia, Oxford Development Studies, 43(2): 212-231, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2015, Is it possible to adjust ‘with a human face’? Differences in fiscal consolidation strategies between Hungary versus Iceland, Comparative Economic Studies, 57(4): 623-654, More information
Martorano, Bruno, L. Natali, C. de Neubourg & J. Bradshaw, 2014, Child Well-being in Advanced Economies in the Late 2000s, Social Indicators Research, 118(1): 247-283, More information
Alberti, G., A. Martorano & Bruno Martorano, 2014, The Competing Influences of Initial Depressive Symptomatology and Early Alliance on Early Outcome: A Preliminary Study, Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 16(2): 109-118, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2014, The Impact of Uruguay’s 2007 Tax Reform on Equity and Efficiency, Development Policy Review, 32(6): 701-714, More information
Bradshaw, J., Bruno Martorano, L. Natali & C. de Neubourg, 2013, Children’s Subjective Well-being in Rich Countries, Child Indicator Research, 6(4): 619-635, More information
Martorano, Bruno & Marco Sanfilippo, 2012, Innovative Features in Anti-Poverty Programs: An impact evaluation of Chile Solidario on households and children, Journal of International Development, 24(8): 1030-1041, More information


Book chapters
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2017, The Dynamics of Income Inequality in a Dualistic Economy:Malawi over 1990-2011, in: Ayodele Odusola, Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Haroon Bhorat and Pedro Conceição, Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, Determinants, and Consequences, UNDP, New York, US
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2017, Building an Integrated Inequality Dataset and the ‘Seven Sins’ of Inequality Measurement in sub-Saharan Africa, in: Ayodele Odusola, Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Haroon Bhorat and Pedro Conceição, Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, Determinants, and Consequences, UNDP, New York, US
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2017, Inequality and Growth in an Agricultural-led Development Model: The case of Ethiopia over 1995-2011, in: Ayodele Odusola, Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Haroon Bhorat and Pedro Conceição, Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa: Divergence, Determinants, and Consequences, UNDP, New York, US, More information
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea, Juan Carlos Gómez–Sabaini & Bruno Martorano, 2014, Tax policy and income distribution during the last decade, in: G. A. Cornia, Tax policy and income distribution during the last decade, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, More information
Martorano, Bruno, Giovanni Andrea Cornia & Frances Stewart, 2014, Human Development and Fiscal Policy: Comparing the Crises of 1982-85 and 2008-11, in: G. A. Cornia and F. Stewart, Towards Human Development: New Approaches to Macroeconomics and Inequality, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2012, Policies for Reducing Income Inequality: Latin America during the Last Decade, in: I. Ortiz, L. Moreira Daniels and S. Engilbertsdottir, Child Poverty and Inequality, UNICEF, New York, US, More information
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2011, Democracy, the New Left and Income Distribution: Latin America over the last Decade, in: E. V. Fitzgerald, J. Heyer and R. Thorpe, Overcoming the Persistence of Inequality and Poverty, Palgrave, London, More information


UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Dietrich, Stephan, Valerio Giuffrida, Bruno Martorano, Georg Schmerzeck & Marco Tiberti, 2023, Lost in aggregation? On the importance of local food price data for food poverty estimates, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-035
Diaz Mendez, Ana Karen & Bruno Martorano, 2023, The gender inequality effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian labor market, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-034
Hillenbrand, Tobias, Bruno Martorano, Laura Metzger & Melissa Siegel, 2023, How humanitarian are Germans towards refugees?, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-033
Martorano, Bruno, Elena Perra & Marco Tiberti, 2023, Spatial inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa using night-time lights data, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-032
Günther, Isabel & Bruno Martorano, 2023, Inequality, social mobility and redistributive preferences, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-017
Justino, Patricia, Bruno Martorano & Laura Metzger, 2023, Welfare losses, preferences for redistribution, and political participation: Evidence from the United Kingdom’s age of austerity, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-016
Iacoella, Francesco, Patricia Justino & Bruno Martorano, 2021, Do pandemics lead to rebellion? Policy responses to COVID-19, inequality, and protests in the USA, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2021-014
Gassmann, Franziska, Bruno Martorano & Jennifer Waidler, 2021, How social assistance affects subjective Well-being: Lessons from Kyrgyzstan, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2021-013
Dietrich, Stephan, Valerio Giuffrida, Bruno Martorano & Georg Schmerzeck, 2021, COVID-19 policy responses, mobility, and food prices: Evidence from local markets in 47 low to middle income countries, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2021-008
Iacoella, Francesco, Patricia Justino & Bruno Martorano, 2020, Roots of dissent: Trade liberalization and the rise of populism in Brazil, Also published as UNU-WIDER Working Paper 118/2020, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2020-043
Gassmann, Franziska & Bruno Martorano, 2019, The future of work and its implications for social protection and the welfare state, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2019-039
Martorano, Bruno, Laura Metzger & Marco Sanfilippo, 2018, Chinese development assistance and household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2018-012


External working papers
Martorano, Bruno, 2018, The relationship between perceptions of inequality and political participation: the case of West Balkans, More information
Martorano, Bruno, Marco Sanfilippo & Nobuya Haraguchi, 2017, What factors drive successful industrialization? Evidence and implications for developing countries, More information
Justino, Patricia & Bruno Martorano, 2017, Welfare Spending and Political Conflict, More information
Roelen, Keetie, Stephen Devereux, Abdul Gafaru Abdulai, Bruno Martorano, Tia Palermo & L. Peter Ragno, 2017, How to make ‘cash plus’ in social protection work: linking services and sectors, More information
Gómez–Sabaini, Juan Carlos, Bruno Martorano & Dalmiro Morán, 2016, Taxation and Inequality: Lessons from Latin America, More information
Justino, Patricia & Bruno Martorano, 2016, Inequality and Protests in Latin American countries during the recent years, More information
Justino, Patricia & Bruno Martorano, 2016, Redistribution, Inequality and Political Participation: Evidence from Mexico during the 2008 Financial Crisis, More information
Martorano, Bruno, S. Handa, C. Halpern, A. Pettifor & H. Thirumurthy, 2015, Age and gender effects on time discounting in a large scale cash transfer program, More information
Natali, L., S. Handa, Yekaterina Chzhen & Bruno Martorano, 2014, Changes in Child Poverty in the OECD/EU during the Great Recession: An initial view, More information
Natali, L., Bruno Martorano, S. Handa, Goran Holmqvist & Yekaterina Chzhen, 2014, Trends in Child Well-being in EU Countries during the Great Recession: A cross-country comparative perspective, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2014, The Consequences of the Recent Economic Crisis and Government Reactions for Children, More information
Handa, S., Bruno Martorano, C. Halpern, A. Pettifor & Harsha Thirumurthy, 2014, Subjective Well-being, Risk Perceptions and Time Discounting: Evidence from a Large Scale Cash Transfer Program, More information
Martorano, Bruno, 2014, Pre-crisis Condition and Government Reaction: Chile and Mexico during the Great Recession, More information
Martorano, Bruno, L. Natali, C. de Neubourg & J. Bradshaw, 2013, Child Well-being in Economically Rich Countries: Changes in the first decade of the 21st century, More information
Sanfilippo, Marco, C. de Neubourg & Bruno Martorano, 2012, The Impact of Social Protection on Children: A review of the literature, More information
Neubourg, Chris de, J. Bradshaw, Yekaterina Chzhen, Gill Main, Bruno Martorano & Leonardo Menchini, 2012, Child Deprivation and Poverty in Europe, More information
Bradshaw, J., Yekaterina Chzhen, Gill Main, Bruno Martorano, Leonardo Menchini & C. de Neubourg, 2012, Relative Income Poverty among Children in Rich Countries, More information
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2012, Development policies and income inequality: main trends in selected developing regions, 1980-2010, More information
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea, Juan Carlos Gómez–Sabaini & Bruno Martorano, 2011, A new fiscal pact, tax policy changes and income inequality: Latin America during the last decade”, More information
Cornia, Giovanni Andrea & Bruno Martorano, 2009, External shocks, policy changes, and income distribution: Latin America during the last decade, More information


Research reports
Martorano, Bruno, Ortrun Merkle, Alex Hunns, Giulio Bordon, Cintia Denise Granja & Francesco Iacoella, 2021, Inequality in Botswana; An analysis of the drivers and district-level mapping of select dimensions of inequality, Botswana is currently one of the most unequal countries globally, having the 9th highest Gini coefficient, indicating the degree of inequality of incomes, according to the most recent UNDP report (2020). Both theoretical and empirical studies have shown the negative effect of inequality on long-run growth, poverty reduction, social and political stability. The issue of inequality in Botswana has received limited attention historically from both research and policy perspectives. This study was therefore commissioned by UNDP, in an attempt to assist Botswana in understanding the drivers of inequality beyond income, as part of Botswana’s commitment to implement SDG 10 targets, More information


Conference contributions
Gassmann, Franziska, Bruno Martorano & Jennifer Waidler, 2018, From Cradle to Grave? Poverty, Social Assistance, and Subjective Well-being in Kyrgyzstan, HDCA Conference 2018, Buenos Aires


UNU-MERIT