Leone holds a MSc Economics and a PhD in Economics from University of York (2005) and a PhD in Financial Economics from University of Naples (2001). His research interest lies in studying the extent to which the predictive ability of the Early Warning Systems in forecasting systemic banking crisis is improved by variables capturing the concentration level in the banking sector, its securitisation activity and mechanisms of systemic contagion. He is also studying the role of corruption and crime for economic activity and growth processes, and developing semiparametric techniques describing the evolution of the wages and the per capita income distribution across the world and EU economies. Leone's research has been published in outlets such as, among others, Work, Employment, and Society, The Journal of Business Ethics, The Journal of Banking and Finance, The Journal of Applied Econometrics, The Journal of Empirical Finance, The International Review of Financial Analysis, The Global Strategy Journal, Economics Letters, The Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Public Choice, and Empirical Economics. He has refereed for 30 journals in economics and finance.