Sebbene gli attuali scenari recessivi abbiano portato a un ulteriore ampliamento del divario di sviluppo dell’economia del Mezzogiorno dalle regioni centro-settentrionali, vi è un comparto di attività - quello delle energie rinnovabili - che ha fatto registrare in quest’ultimi anni tassi...

This paper analyses the impact of the speed of transition reforms on economic growth in transition countries in the context of the debate big-bang versus gradualist approach. It builds a new indicator for the speed of transition reforms based on a three-way principal component analysis. It shows...

This paper investigates whether the determinants of first marriage dissolution differ from determinants of second marriage dissolution. Using data from British Household Panel Survey, I estimate a simultaneous hazard model for the risk of ending a first and a second marriage, taking into account...

In this paper we appraise the existence of a negative relationship between the wage level and the unemployment rate (the wage curve) across Italian regions, using data from the Bank of Italy’s Survey on Household Income and Wealth. The main advantage of this data-set is the availability of...

This paper examines the determinants of innovation and its effects on small- and medium-sized firms We use the data from the OPIS databank, which provides a survey on a representative sample of firms from a province of the Southern Italy. We want to study whether small and medium sized firms can...

The implications of individual heterogeneity for the evolution of wealth distribution are studied in a standard model of occupational choice with financial market imperfections and local non convexities in education investment technology. We consider heterogeneity in the cost of educational...

In this paper we develop an empirical two-stage model of competition for the banking industry that incorporates the choice of capacity in the form of new branches. It is estimated using data on Italian banks for the years 1995-2009. The results show that the conduct of banks is significantly...

In this paper I will try to explain why lifestyle may have a positive impact on economic growth. First of all, I consider health affecting consumer’s utility and then define a Health Production Function where health is the output and consumer good the input. In this approach a parameter named...

The phenomenon of tourism, due to the variables involved and their instability, is a highly complex and dynamic sector. Faced with an increasingly competitive market, characterized by political, economic and social megatrends which affect local performance, the role of the setting becomes...

This paper studies the distributive impact of institutional change in developing countries. In such economies, economic institutions, such as property rights systems, may act to preserve the interests of an influential minority, but this depends crucially on the level of political equality. For...