<em>Financial incentives and socio-economic disincentives: foreign investments in the Italian Mezzogiorno</em> (by Vittorio Daniele) - ABSTRACT: Objectives Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in Italy tends to be concentrated in certain regions. Over the period here examined (2000-2005), eight...

Socioeconomic disparity between North and South Italy has been recently explained by Lynn (2010) as the result of a lower intelligence quotient (IQ) of the Southern population. The present article discusses the procedure followed by Lynn, supplementing his data with new information on school...

The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, applying the “Ease of doing business” World Bank indicator, the article analyses the impact of economic regulation on growth in a cross section of about 150 countries in the period 1990-2004. Secondly, the article examines the relationship between...

The objective of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it offers some empirical evidence on the evolution of regional disparities in Italy in the light of recent development policies. Secondly, the paper focuses on the role of public spending in the convergence process. This analysis is based on a...

Are natural resources a 'blessing' or a 'curse' for human development? This article attempts to answer the question by distinguishing between a 'dependence' on natural resources and an 'abundance' of the same. Dependence is measured in terms of exports of metals and fuel, while resource...

The debate on the "curse of natural resources" is a topical issue in empirical research on;economic development. This paper examines the relationship between natural resources and growth rates in a cross-section of countries, by separately analyzing abundance of resources and dependence on...

This paper examines the impact of crime on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the Italian provinces. The incidence of organized crime is measured by the number of complaints regarding criminal offences of different kinds traditionally related to the mafia organizations. The results show...

Can the average intelligence quotient (IQ) of populations be considered the root cause of international development inequalities? Psychologists and some economic studies have proposed the existence of a link between intelligence quotient and economic development. The paper tests this hypothesis,...