Caterina Astarita is an Associate Research Fellow in the Jobs and Skills Unit at CEPS.
She is an economist with over fifteen years of professional experience in applied economic research, specialising in labour market and social policies, income distribution, inequality and poverty measurement, as well as public economics and taxation policies in the European Union. Her work combines academic research with policy-oriented analytical work for European institutions and research organisations.
At CEPS, Caterina contributes to and coordinates research projects for the European Commission and other European institutions on labour market dynamics, digital and structural transformations, adult learning and skills, and their implications for inequality and social inclusion. Her recent research also focuses on the impact of major policy initiatives such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility and on emerging labour market challenges, including non-standard forms of work in Europe.
Before joining CEPS, Caterina worked as an Economic Analyst at the European Commission (DG ECFIN and DG EMPL), where she conducted quantitative analyses supporting the assessment of taxation systems, social expenditure, structural reforms and labour market incentives across EU Member States.
Her research relies extensively on quantitative and econometric methods applied to large-scale datasets, including panel data models, discrete choice and limited dependent variable models, quasi-experimental methods for policy evaluation and microsimulation tools such as EUROMOD.
Caterina holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy), a M.Sc. in Economics from the Birkbeck College –University of London (UK) and graduated with honours in Political Science at the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy) with a specialisation in Administrative Sciences.
Mother tongue Italian, she is fluent in English and has intermediate knowledge of French.
