Emanuele Pugliese specializes in the Economics of Innovation and Structural Change, applying Network Science and Machine Learning to explore new policy directions. His research is international in scope, examining economic systems across developed and developing regions at various levels, from national to regional economies, down to individual firms.

Emanuele has balanced his career between the academic world and international policy-making. In the European Commission, he led the Complex project at the Joint Research Centre, focusing on economic fitness and complexity, and has also contributed to projects with the World Bank Group. His academic path includes a PhD from the School of Economics at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and work at the Institute for Complex System of the Italian National Research Centre by Sapienza University, Rome, reflecting a journey through diverse disciplines to enrich his understanding and application of complex systems in general and economics in particular.

At UNU-Merit, Emanuele coordinates the Computational Innovation Lab on Crises, Transformation, and Sustainable Development. This role involves the integration of computational tools to enhance innovation policy and governance, aiming to address current global challenges with a focus on sustainability and economic resilience.

Emanuele's work is driven by a commitment to applying interdisciplinary research and advanced computational methods to inform and shape economic policy, with the goal of supporting sustainable development and innovation.