ABOUT
Meet our team of researchers sharing the passion for Social Economics.
What we do at the Social Economics Lab
Our mission is to understand how people think and reason about economic issues and policies. We pursue this by designing and conducting large-scale Social Economics Surveys and Experiments that shed light on people’s economic understanding and provide a way to hear different ways of thinking.
Founder and Director
Stefanie Stantcheva
Professor of Economics, Harvard University
I am the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University and founder and director of the Social Economics Lab.
I study the taxation of firms and individuals, as well as how people understand, perceive, and form their attitudes towards economic issues and policies. My recent work explores people’s attitudes towards taxation, trade, immigration, climate change, and social mobility using large-scale Social Economics Surveys and Experiments.
I have also studied the long-lasting effects of tax policy – on innovation, education, and wealth. Some examples include how R&D policies can be improved to foster innovation, how income and corporate taxes have shaped innovation over the 20th century, and how student loans can be structured to improve access to education.
I received my Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 2014 and was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows 2014-2016 before joining the Harvard Department of Economics in July 2016. I am currently co-editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics.
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Our Team
Research Fellows
Youenn Mandon
RESEARCH FELLOW
Youenn is a normalien (civil-service student) at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, where he earned an M.Sc. in Advanced Economics in 2025 after completing a preparatory class in Economics and Social Sciences. Before joining the Social Economics Lab in September 2025, he worked as an intern at the French Parliament and the French Treasury. His research interests lie in applied microeconomics, including public economics, political economy, and economic history.
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Nathanaël Soulage
RESEARCH FELLOW
Originally from Nanterre (France), Nathanaël obtained an MRes in Economics at Sciences Po Paris in 2025, after graduating from a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences from Sciences Po in 2023.
Aside from economics, he enjoys playing the saxophone.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since June 2024.
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Henri Runge
RESEARCH FELLOW
Originally from Hamburg (Germany), Henri obtained a B.Sc. in Economics and Business Economics from Maastricht University. During his studies, he worked as a research assistant at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and was an exchange student at the University of California, San Diego.
In his free time, Henri enjoys playing racket sports and cooking.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since September 2025.
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Alberto Dario Zanettin
RESEARCH FELLOW
Originally from Vicenza (Italy), Alberto is currently enrolled in the M.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences (ESS) at Bocconi University, where he also graduated from a B.Sc. in International Economics and Finance in 2023. From January to May 2023, he was an exchange student at Princeton University.
Aside from economics, he enjoys cooking, wildlife photography, and judo.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since May 2025.
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Roberto Fani
RESEARCH FELLOW
Originally from Naples (Italy), Roberto is currently enrolled in the M.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences (ESS) at Bocconi University, where he also graduated from a B.Sc. in International Economics and Finance in 2024. From January to May 2024, he was an exchange student at Columbia University.
Aside from economics, he enjoys cooking and theater.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since July 2025.
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Gregory Tham
RESEARCH FELLOW
Originally from Singapore, Gregory obtained a B.Sc. in Economics from National University of Singapore and a MPP from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Thereafter, he worked as an economist for the Singapore Government.
Aside from economics, he enjoys playing football.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since June 2024.
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PhD Candidates
Roberto Colarieti
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Originally from Rome (Italy), Roberto Colarieti obtained a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University.
He is currently enrolled in an M.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences at Bocconi University. He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since November 2020.
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Beatrice Ferrario
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Pierfrancesco Mei
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Pierfrancesco is a PhD Candidate in Economics at Harvard University. He is a Research Fellow in the Social Economics Lab, where he worked on the Immigration and Redistribution, Race and Redistribution in the US, and Understanding Economics projects.
Before joining Harvard, he obtained a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan.
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Sahil Chinoy
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Sahil is a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Harvard University. He is interested in political economy and U.S. history, and has contributed to the Social Economics Lab’s work on zero-sum thinking and its policy implications.
Before Harvard, he studied economics and physics at UC Berkeley and worked as a graphics editor at The New York Times.
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Francesco Nuzzi
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Originally from Rome (Italy), Francesco is currently enrolled in a M.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences (ESS) at Bocconi University. Before ESS, he obtained a B.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi in 2020. Also, from January to May 2020, he was an exchange student at Princeton University.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since August 2021.
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Matteo Ferroni
PhD Candidate, Boston University
Originally from Singapore, Gregory obtained a B.Sc. in Economics from National University of Singapore and a MPP from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Thereafter, he worked as an economist for the Singapore Government.
Aside from economics, he enjoys playing football.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since June 2024.
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Eu-Wayne Mok
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Originally from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Eu-Wayne received a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a MA in International and Development Economics from Yale University.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since July 2023.
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Kelsey Pukelis
PhD Candidate, Harvard
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Shreya Tandon
PhD Candidate, Harvard
Shreya is a PhD candidate in political economy and government at Harvard University. She studies labor market frictions, women’s labor market outcomes, migration, and tax administration, with a focus on developing countries.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, India and an MSc. in
Economics from LSE. Before joining Harvard, she worked as a research assistant at the
Princeton Program in Public Economics.
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Alberto Binetti
PhD candidate, Princeton
Originally from Naples, Alberto is a Ph.D. student in Economics at Princeton University. He holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Economics from Bocconi University, Italy.
Aside from economics, he enjoys skiing and chess.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since August 2022.
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Filippo Giorgis
PHD Candidate, NYU
Originally from Turin (Italy), Filippo is currently enrolled in a M.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences (ESS) at Bocconi University, where he also graduated from a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences in 2022. From January to May 2022, he was an exchange student at the University of British Columbia.
Aside from economics, he enjoys cinema and playing tennis.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since July 2023.
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Alfonso Merendino
PHD Candidate, Yale
Originally from Palermo (Italy), Alfonso is currently enrolled in an M.Sc. in Economic and Social Sciences (ESS) at Bocconi University, after graduating with a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi in 2022. Also, from January to May 2022, he was an exchange student at New York University.
Aside from economics, he plays golf.
He has been working with the Social Economics Lab since August 2023.
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Selected Research
You can also send your CV to us using the form below. Please also specify your interests, timeline, and availability and whether you are looking for a full-time or part-time position. We we will contact you when there’s a suitable open position. Thank you!