Leonardo Conte

Nationality: Italian

Expertise

  • Behaviour change; 
  • Modal choice and modal shift; 
  • Mixed methods.

Mission

  • Develop mobility practices in line with climate objectives;
  • Encourage modal shift towards low-carbon modes of transport;
  • Promote "slow living economies".

Current Work

  • Impact evaluation of fare-free public transportation (FFPT) on modal shift; 
  • Analysis of travel time satisfaction based on lifestyle patterns; 
  • Study of modal choice and socio-cultural factors influencing car dependency. 
Leonardo Conte is postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Urban Sociology (LaSUR) at EPFL in Lausanne. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Fribourg, where he worked on economic methodology and consumer behaviour. His research focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of mobility and transport behaviour, with a particular emphasis on modal shift, fare-free public transportation, and car dependency. He uses a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, to analyse changes in consumer culture and their implications for ecological transition. A former adjunct professor of economics at Franklin University Switzerland, he co-founded Rethinking Economics Switzerland and is currently a member of the Swiss Donut Economics Network. He has further collaborated with the Italian Institute for the Future, the Swiss Institute for Alternative Thinking, the Harvard Policy and Institutional Research Project, and the Behavior Lab.

Professionals experiences

Research Assistant

  • • Authored scientific articles on technology and sustainability
  • • Structured research ideas and managed publication processes
  • • Produced business reports and edited public presentations

Adjunct Professor

  • • Designed and taught graduate courses on climate economics
  • • Organised and led academic travels with undergraduates
  • • Collaborated with faculty members and attended seminars

Teaching and Research Assistant

  • • Lectured courses in marketing and consumer behaviour
  • • Pursued scientific research in behavioural economics
  • • Represented the intermediate body at the academic senate

Junior Research Fellow

  • • Collected and analysed data on comparative public policy
  • • Produced reports on changes in the Italian education system
  • • Collaborated with international teams of junior researchers

Education

Economics

| Economic and Social Sciences

2019 – 2024 Université de Fribourg
Directed by Sergio Rossi

Economics

| Economics and International Policies

2016 – 2017 Università della Svizzera italiana
Directed by Alvaro Cencini

Economics

| Economics, Organizations and Markets

2011 – 2014 Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Directed by Daniela Parisi

Publications non-EPFL

Journal Articles

2025

* Oltre il mito della libertà individuale: scelta, azione e movimento nell’era del mercato libero

L. Conte

International Review of Palliative Marketing. 2025.

2024

* Revisiting the Economic Value of the Choice of Law in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Crenguta LeauaL. ConteGeorge Leaua

World Arbitration and Mediation Review. 2024.

2023

* A Case for Mundialisation: Scaling Technological Innovation from Municipalities to Small States

L. ConteCrenguta LeauaGeorge Leaua

Futuri. 2023.

* The Role of Marketing and Business-to-Consumer Nudging in Fostering Sustainable Consumption

L. Conte

Swiss Academies Communications. 2023. DOI : 10.5281/zenodo.8158640.

2021

* Consumer de-responsibilization: changing notions of consumer subjects and market moralities after the 2008–9 financial crisis

L. Pellandini-SimányiL. Conte

Consumption, Markets & Culture. 2021. DOI : 10.1080/10253866.2020.1781099.

Book Chapters

2025

* When Small Turns Out to Be (Better Than) Big: Technological Innovation and Environmental Protection in Small States

C. LeauaL. ConteG. Leaua

Small States and International Law; Brill | Nijhoff, 2025. p. 28 - 47.

2024

* Nudging as a Tool of Market Design and Profitability: Performativity in the Age of Behavioural Economics

L. ConteL. Pellandini-Simaìnyi

Market Studies; Cambridge University Press, 2024. p. 127 - 143.

* Nature Capital, Nature Markets and Arbitration

Crenguta LeauaL. Conte

ESG and Disputes: Flash in the Pan or Game Changer?; Kluwer Law International, 2024. p. 5 - 20.

Working Papers

2024

* The Swiss Patriciates: A Model Case for Sustainable Development Goals’ Implementation

C. LeauaL. ConteV. Lulache

2024

* The Art of Questioning: Redefining the Value of Interrogative Communication in the Era of AI

C. LeauaL. ConteG. LeauaJ. Demarchi

2024

Posters

2022

* The Making of Healthy, Wealthy, and Happy Consumers: Practices and Politics of Nudging in For-Profit Firms

L. ContePellandini-Simányi L.

Consumer Culture Theory Conference, Corvallis, OR, United States, 2022.

student-coar-types:c_db06

2024

* Qualitative Economics: Integrating Qualitative Research Methods into Economic Analysis

L. Conte

2024.

Research

Current Research Fields

Modal choice and modal shift; Transport behaviour; Fare-free public transportation (FFPT); Rhythms of life.