Sara Balestri

Who is

She holds a degree in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Bologna and an MA in International Relations for Development from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan). She also earned an MSc in Development Economics from the University of Sussex (UK), and a PhD in Institutions and Politics (with a focus on Development Economics) from Università Cattolica, where her doctoral research explored the role of natural resources in shaping the intensity of civil conflicts in low-income countries. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Economics, University of Perugia. She has also served as a Visiting Professor at the Centre for European Integration Studies (ZEI) at the University of Bonn (Germany) and at UPAEP (Mexico). Through various collaborations with NGOs, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she has carried out fieldwork in Bangladesh, Bolivia, India, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Lebanon, Uganda, and the West Bank. Her research interests include development economics, environmental economics, political economy, and policy impact evaluation. In particular, she investigates the interplay between natural resources, social stability, and institutional quality, as well as the effects of land tenure insecurity and climate shocks on conflict dynamics at the macro level and household welfare at the micro level.

Selected publications:

Journals

• Balestri, S. and Caruso, R. (2024). Vulnerability to climate change and communal conflict: evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa and South/South-East Asia, The Journal of Development Studies, 60(10), 1530-1556.
• Balestri, S., Beretta, S. and Nebel, M. (2024). Tertiary education for indigenous students. A case study on institutional relational proximity, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 2, 113-140.
• Balestri, S. (2024). Revitalising smallholder agriculture: the impact of technical training in rural Lebanon. Economia Politica, 1-33.
• Rossignoli, D., Balestri, S., Beretta, S. and Maggioni, M.A. (2022). International child sponsorship improves school performance: Evidence from Goma (DRC), Journal of African Economies, 31(3), 211-250.
• Balestri S. and Maggioni M.A. (2021). This Land Is My Land! Large-Scale Land Acquisitions and Conflict Events in Sub-Saharan Africa, Defence and Peace Economics, 32(4), 427-450.
• Balestri, S. (2021). L’Africa e le sfide dell’urbanizzazione, Vita e Pensiero, vol.5, 52-58.
• Balestri, S. (2020). Inside the policy process: using textual analysis to measure peoplecentered approach in Tuberculosis policy-making, Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 2, 147-172.
• Balestri, S. (2019). Growing Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Land Competing Interests in Peri-Urban Areas and Organised Violence, Journal of Economic and Social Geography - Tijdschrift Voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 110, 191-208.
• Rossignoli D. and Balestri S. (2018). Food security and democracy: do inclusive institutions matter?, Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d’études du développement, 39(2), 215-233.
• Maggioni M.A, Rossignoli D., Beretta S. and Balestri S. (2018). Trust behind bars: Measurin change in inmates’ prosocial preferences, Journal of Economic Psychology, 64, 89-104.
• Rossignoli D., Maggioni M.A., Beretta S. and Balestri S. (2017). Growing up in Africa: age and pro-social attitudes in primary schoolchildren in Goma (RDC), Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, 4, p.405-440.
• Balestri S. and Maggioni M.A. (2017). Land-use change and communal conflicts in SubSaharan Africa, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 23(4), 20170032.
• Balestri S. (2017). The commodification of land: the impact of large investments on livelihoods and social stability in low-income countries, Educatio Catholica, III, p.61-70.
• Balestri S. and Maggioni M.A. (2014). Blood Diamonds, Dirty Gold and Spatial Spill-overs Measuring Conflict Dynamics in West Africa, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 20(4) p.551-564.
• Balestri S. (2012). Gold and civil conflict intensity: Evidence from a spatially disaggregated analysis, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 18(3), p.1-17

Book and book chapters

• Balestri, S., Beretta, S., and Herrera Rendón Nebel, M.T. (2025). “Una Apuesta de Futuro”: inclusione dei giovani di origine indigena e sviluppo locale, in Beretta, S. e Rizzi, P. (eds) “Contrastare le povertà. Percorsi di vita e accompagnamento al lavoro”, Vita e Pensiero, ISBN 978-88-343-5953-2
• Balestri S. (2025). “Oltre il PIL”: la necessità di un nuovo paradigma economico per misurare ciò che conta davvero, in Marelli, E. and Signorelli, M. Politica economica. Le politiche in tempi di grandi shock e instabilità geopolitiche, p.297-300, G. Giappichelli Editore, ISBN 979-12-211-1244-3.
• Balestri S. and Beretta S. (2015). Contro la Fame. Diritto al cibo, accesso alla terra, EMI Bologna, ISBN:978-88-307-2260-6.
• Balestri S. (2015). Land Conflicts and the Role of Institutions, in Beretta S. and Balestri S. (eds.), Poverty Eradication: Access to Land, Access to Food, EDUCatt Milan, ISBN:978-88-6780-906-6.

 Working papers

• Strusi, V. and Balestri, S. (2025). Land, Women and Development: a systematic review of causal evidence, DISEIS WP Series 2502, ISSN 2612-7636.
• Romano, D., Tiberti, L., Gattone, T., Caruso, R., Balestri, S., & Balestra, A. (2025). Climate Change-Agrifood-Conflict Nexus Pathways: A Scoping Review of the Literature. DISEI Working Papers WP12/2025.
• Maggioni M.A. and Balestri S. (2019). My neighbour’s war. Spatial dependence of conflict incidence in West Africa, DISEIS WP Series 1903, ISSN 2612-7636.