The analysis of the persistence of profits has long been a controversial issue within empirical industrial organisation literature. The aim of our paper is to provide new empirical findings that may account for patterns of both sectoral and firm profit persistence. The distinctive feature of our...

This paper analyses the unemployment gender gap by using a three-state labour market model (Employment, Unemployment, Inactivity) which enables us to determine the equilibrium (steady-state) unemployment rate and the contribution that a single transition probability from each state makes to the...

This paper provides a methodological analysis of credit risk in manufacturing firms by using two different credit scoring approaches. The first is the traditional discriminant approach (DA) for bankruptcy prediction based on a logistic regression model, whereas the second, Data Envelopment...

The effects of the recent economic recession have been widely discussed, particularly at the macro economic level. However, the economic downturn has been pervasive and has also determined a range of economic effects at different territorial levels. It has therefore become necessary to set up...

Disadvantaged conditions in the Italian labour market are analysed by considering unemployment gender gaps within the three main geographical areas which characterize the Italian economy (North, Centre and South). We use a Transition Probability Matrix approach to identify the relevant labour...

In this paper we propose a new macro-micro econometric framework which incorporates both aggregate labour demand and supply, and the labour market flows which determine the steady-state unemployment rate. Thus, we can simulate either demand or supply shocks and therefore assess their impacts on...

The papers published in this issue of the Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali have been selected from those contributions presented at the workshop on ‘‘Employment opportunities and unemployment over the economic downturn’’ held on 18th May 2012 at the Universita` Cattolica del...