Simone Bertoli obtained a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Florence, with a dissertation on the impact of migration upon Ecuadorian households. He joined the IAB, Institute for Employment Research, in April 2008.

His research interest include the economics of migration, aid policies, the relationship between outsouring and domestic labour demand, currency crises in developing countries, and game theoretic analysis of dynamic economic problems. He is also working at the European University Institute in the core team for the first edition of the European Report on Development.