In this paper, we assess the ability of the Cobb-Douglas framework to match the empirical evidence for Italy. While the growth accounting approach requires the validity of this functional form and of its parameters, we conduct econometric analysis on a panel of regions for the years 2000- 2006...

In a bank-oriented country such as Italy, bank credit is by far the most important source of external finance for firms. The allocative efficiency of banks is therefore an important element underlying the overall performance of the economy. In this paper we focus on allocation across industrial...

This paper studies what impact liquidity shocks have on liquid assets and domestic and cross-border lending. In particular, we look for differences across banks depending on their international exposure and we account for the effects of the sovereign debt crisis and the ECB's non-conventional...

This paper proposes a taxonomy of the main regional transport infrastructure indicators available in Italy and discusses the principal merits and limitations of each of them. The indexes show scant correlation and may offer contrasting data on the infrastructure endowment of a given area. As a...

We empirically investigate the role of civic capital (proxied by voter turnout) in Italy's economic development in the second half of the Twentieth century. Using a unique dataset at the city level, we show that over a fifty-year span voter turnout was steadily correlated with economic...

The paper uses questions included in the 2010 wave of the Bank of Italy�s Survey on Household Income and Wealth to investigate the role of family transmission of values. It presents three main empirical findings. First, the paper shows that a number of attitudes (generalized and...

The constitutional reforms of 2001 and 2003 empowered the Italian regions to enact legislation aimed at removing barriers to effective gender equality. The laws they have adopted in this field are often fragmented � only in a few cases do they form a consistent, comprehensive framework...

This paper considers the role of preferences in explaining trust. By using the Bank of Italy�s Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW), the paper shows that time preferences and risk preferences are key covariates of self-reported trust. They both predict negatively a measure of...

Using the European Social Survey, the paper documents the endowments and the individual determinants of trust across Europe. Self-declared trust is higher in northern countries, in particular Scandinavia; it is lower in southern countries, in particular Italy, Portugal and Greece. At the EU-15...

Nonostante tutti i Paesi sviluppati, sospinti da motivazioni di carattere sociale o politico, facciano ricorso a politiche regionali, resta aperto il confronto sull’efficacia di tali interventi. Il presente lavoro illustra innanzitutto il dibattito internazionale, che vede oggi contrapporsi...