Andrea Pronti

Andrea Pronti is a researcher in environmental economics at the Department of International Economics, Institutions and Development, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. His research combines quantitative methods and applied analysis to evaluate policies and technological innovations that can both reduce environmental impacts and create economic value. Andrea is member of the inter-university research center on environmental economics SEEDS (Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies).
Andrea’s work explores the links between economic activities and environmental conditions, using both microeconomic approaches and broader-scale analyses. His recent studies focus on the adoption of irrigation innovations and on the effects of water pricing instruments (e.g., volumetric tariffs) on farm productivity and sustainability, contributing to the debate on how to reconcile water-use efficiency with rural development.
Other strands of his research address the economic impacts of climate change, agroecology, the adoption of eco-innovations among micro and small enterprises, and the drivers of diffusion of sustainable energy systems among users.
His approach seeks to bridge academic research and policy-making, promoting sustainable development pathways that reduce environmental and socio-economic vulnerabilities.

Selected publications

Pronti A., Zoboli R., (2024) “Something new under the sun. A spatial econometric analysis of the adoption of photovoltaic systems in Italy”, Energy Economics, Vol. 134, June 2024, 107582, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2024.107582

De Pascale G., Pronti A., Zoboli R. (2024), “The role of local institutional quality for the digital and environmental transitions in Italy”, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Vol. 71(2024): 689-705, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2024.09.002.

Zegarra E., Graves A., Pronti A., Rey Vicario D. (2023), “Global exports draining local water resources: land concentration, food exports and water grabbing in the Ica Valley (Peru)”, World Development Vol. 177 (May 2024).

Auci S., Pronti A. (2023), “Irrigation Technology Adaptation for a Sustainable Agriculture: A Panel Endogenous Switching Analysis on the Italian Farmland Productivity”, Resource and Energy Economics, Vol.74 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reseneeco.2023.101391.

Auci S., Mazzanti M., Pronti A. (2023), “Adopting sustainable irrigation technologies in Italy: a study on the determinants of inter- and intra-farm diffusion”, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Vol. 33(2), (2023), 10.1080/10438599.2023.2183854.

Crudeli L., Mancinelli S., Mazzanti M., Pronti A. (2024), “The 'Good Farmer' concept and the diffusion of innovations for sustainable development in rural Africa”, Economia Politica, Econ Polit (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-024-00352-z

Berbel J., Pronti A, (2024), “Water Demand Elasticity in agriculture: the case of Emilia Centrale Irrigation Districts”, Italian Journal of Economics, Ital Econ J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40797-024-00290-6

Auci S., Berbel J., Pronti A. (2024), “Water Conservation and Saving Technologies for Irrigation. A Structured Literature Review of econometric studies on the Determinants of Adoption”, Agricultural Water Management, Vol. 299, 30 June 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2024.108838.

Pronti A., Zecca E. and Antonioli D. (2023), “Micro is beautiful. Determinants of ecological, circular and conventional innovation adoption in micro-firms”, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 33(2) 1341-1368, (2023) 10.1002/bse.3553.

Berbel J., Pronti A. (2023), “The impact of volumetric water tariffs in irrigated agriculture in Northern Italy”, Environmental Impact Assessment Review Volume 98, January 2023, 106922, (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106922.

Mazzarano M. Pronti A., Quatrosi M. (2022), “Waste management and Italian provinces: Why pay more for less?”, Waste Management 154: 340–349, (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2022.10.012

Coppa S. et al. (2021), “Constraints in the development of a sustainable sea urchin fishery after 2 decades of management by an Italian Marine Protected Area", Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 280 (2021), DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111754

Pronti A., Zoboli R. (2024), “Institutional Quality, Trust in Institutions, and Waste Recycling Performance in the EU27”, Sustainability, Vol.16 (2), (2024) 10.3390/su16020892

Gross C. et al. (2023), “Effects of anticipatory humanitarian cash assistance to households forecasted to experience extreme flooding: evidence from Bangladesh”, Hydrological Research, Vol. 54 (11): 1315–1328 (2023).

Chioatto E., Pronti A., Zecca E. (2023) “Environmental policies, waste and circular convergence in the European context”, Insights into Regional Development Vol. 5(3) 95-121, https://dx.doi.org/10.9770/IRD.2023.5.3(6)

Coccia M., Pronti A. (2020), “Multicriteria analysis of the sustainability performance between agroecological and conventional coffee farms in the East Region of Minas Gerais”, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, (2020), (First View 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000332).

Mazzanti M., Mazzarano M., Pronti A., Quatrosi M. (2020), “Fiscal policies, public investments and wellbeing dynamics: mapping the evolution of the EU through crises”, Insights into Regional Development. (2020).

Arfini F., Guareschi M., Maccari M., Pronti A., Sciurano J.P. (2020), “A Methodological Approach to Upscale Toward an Agroecology System in EU-LAFSs: The Case of the Parma Bio-District”, Sustainability 2020, 12 (13), (2020), https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135398

F. Bertinaria, M. Pedretti Dal Covolo, Pronti A., Tomasi S. (2019), “Participatory Assessment of Sustainability in Smallholding Agriculture: the Agroecological Case In Central America”, Journal of Universities and international development Cooperation, vol.2 (2019).

Pronti A. (2018), “Do agroecology practices help small coffee producers in income generation? a case study in minas gerais”, Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia, Vol. 13, nº. 3| p. 48-59 (2018).

Pronti A. (2018), “Agroecological farmers’ movement in Brazil. A practical example of multi-stakeholder approach for rural development”, Movimentos Sociais e Dinâmicas Espaciais, Recife, V. 7, n.1 (2018).