Team

Associate Professor in Demography, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 Associate Professor of Demography at the Department of Statistical Sciences “Paolo Fortunati” at the University of Bologna. Previously, I was a researcher at the Demography Unit of Stockholm University (SUDA) and at the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) of the University of Lausanne. In 2016 I obtained a PhD in Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI) with a dissertation entitled “Fertility in Time of Economic Crisis. The Great Recession effects on childbearing in the United States”. My research interests concern fertility in high-income countries, the link between reproductive choices and economic uncertainty, and labor market and gender dynamics. More generally, I study family dynamics, economic inequality, and how family and work trajectories jointly influence the multiple dimensions of health and well-being. I have gained solid research experience at both the national and international level, coordinating and participating in numerous research projects. I have worked as an expert for the Italian Ministry for Family Policies on the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility and I am involved in PNRR projects on aging, health, and social inequalities. Since September 2025 I have been PI of the FIS2 SO-UNFER project – Social Uncertainty and Fertility in Europe.

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Junior Assistant Professor (Fixed-Term), Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍Saverio Minardi is an RTDa at the University of Bologna, where he carries out research and teaching activities in the field of demography and social sciences. He obtained a PhD in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento. His interests lie at the intersection of the analysis of demographic phenomena and the study of social stratification, with particular attention to long-term dynamics and from a comparative perspective. He teaches courses in the demographic area, including Demography courses and bio-demographic analysis laboratories.

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Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 Chiara holds a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences awarded by the European University Institute (EUI). Her research spans a broad set of questions in population studies, ranging from the role that uncertainty plays for fertility intentions and behaviors to the interplay between gender dynamics and child health in low- and middle-income countries. Her work is based on quantitative analyses of large-scale data.

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Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 My research focuses on Family, Education, and Labour Economics, with a particular interest in how public policies and labour market institutions can shape inequalities over the life course. Using microeconometric and causal inference methods, I study the impact of policies on women’s fertility and family decisions, as well as on children’s and young people’s educational outcomes. More broadly, my work examines the extent to which public interventions can reduce socio-economic disparities and promote more equitable societies.

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Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 I obtained my PhD in Sociology and Social Research at the University of Trento in 2025. My dissertation focused on the timing of the transition to adulthood of young Europeans and on differences by gender and socio-economic background. My research interests include family formation patterns (couples, fertility decisions) and young adults' life courses in comparative perspective.

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Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 Elena Vettoretto is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bologna. She obtained her PhD in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento, where her research focused on educational inequalities, with particular attention to the role of social background and to policies aimed at reducing social disparities. She was previously a research fellow at the University of Padova, where she worked on the FORTIES project, investigating childbirth and postpartum experiences and how these are associated with fertility intentions. Her current research focuses on gender inequalities, particularly within the family and in the labor market. More broadly, she studies how gender inequalities shape family dynamics, labor market trajectories, and fertility-related outcomes across the life course

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PhD Student, University of Bologna & University of Firenze

🔍 I am a PhD student in Life Course Research at the Universities of Bologna and Florence, with a background in Statistical Sciences. Previously, I gained experience in data analysis, dataset construction, and the development of statistical indicators, both in research settings and in the public sector, collaborating with institutions such as the Municipality of Bologna and the Policlinico Gemelli IRCCS. I have skills in the use of statistical software such as R, Stata, SAS, and SPSS, and I work on data management, analysis, and reporting. My research interests focus on the role of reproduction in the dynamics of biological aging, with particular attention to a life course perspective.

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Research Scholarship Holder, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 I am a research scholarship holder in the SO-UNFER Project and also a PhD student at the University of Milan in Economic Sociology in Labour Studies, with a dissertation entitled “Geography and Social Stratification: The Impact of Geographical Origin and Mobility on Life Chances.” I have also spent a research period as a visiting scholar at the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED) in Barcelona. My research interests include geographic mobility, migration, social stratification, gender and family, fertility, and life course studies. I have published in the European Journal of Population and the Journal of Marriage and Family.

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Research Scholarship Holder, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 Sofia is a Research Scholarship Holder in the SO-UNFER project at the University of Bologna. She recently obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Development and International Cooperation, with a dissertation in Social Statistics and Survey Metholodogy. Her dissertation focused on the complexities of identifying and measuring femicide.

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Intern & Student, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

Student and Intern, Department of Statistics Paolo Fortunati, University of Bologna

🔍 I am a Bachelor's student in Statistical Sciences (Bio-demographic curriculum) at the University of Bologna, currently completing my second year. I am conducting my curricular internship within the SO-UNFER project.

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