We firstly provide a brief description of the crisis episodes, from the 2007-8 "liquidity crisis" to the 2008-9 "global recession". Then, we discuss some possible interpretations of the recent evolution, focussing on diverse aspects of the crisis: from the "elements of novelty" (financial...

We briefly describe the evolution of the global process of capitalist accumulation during the neoliberal decades, to stress the “real causes” of the current crisis. This analysis leads to the search for a radical alternative to “austerity”, that is the economic policy approach tied to an...

The paper discusses pandemic governance strategies and argues that, even in the absence of a single successful model, some indispensable characteristics for an adequate strategy are nevertheless identifiable. On the basis of these characteristics, it is possible to evaluate what the various...

This paper describes the functioning of a currency board within the socio-economic context in which it operates. Special focus is given to the macroeconomic implications of a currency board system compared to a central bank system. In particular the author describes the principles regulating a...

This study focuses on the technical and economic efficiency achieved in two local public service sectors: pharmaceutical services and integrated waste services. In the first study we also took in account the social dimension of the service as the health corner, the CUP service (e.g. Useful to...

The paper compares Italian and American households� wealth in 1998. The analysis is based on the Survey on Household Income and Wealth (Bank of Italy) and on the Survey of Consumer Finances (Federal Reserve Board). Tangible assets appear to be the main wealth component in both countries. In...

The paper assesses whether the monthly returns of the listed shares of Italian banks are predicted by changes in balance-sheet indicators. The sample covers the period from January 1997 to June 2003. Estimates use both unadjusted and risk-adjusted returns. Results show that the stock returns of...

Il lavoro riconsidera l'andamento della produttivita' industriale in Italia nel decennio precedente la crisi, impiegando un vasto database di microdati di impresa. Particolare attenzione eÃƒÄ dedicata all‚Äôevoluzione della produttivitaÃƒÄ dei principali comparti della manifattura...

Il presente lavoro intende in prima battuta analizzare l'efficienza dei sistemi sanitari regionali sulla base della qualità percepita dai pazienti. Quest'ultima è stata calcolata sulla mobilità interregionale: flusso dei pazienti extra-regione (immigrati o mobilità positiva) confrontato con...

The debate in Italy on the recent disappointing performance of GDP growth has focused on the increasing competitive pressure exerted by firms located in the developing countries and specialized in key product sectors of Italian manufacturing. This paper contributes by explicitly quantifying the...