In the whole area of the Alps, the agro-structural change between 1980-2000 shows a significant decline of the farms (-40%). Alpine Regions with relatively stable situations (Austria, Switzerland) stand against those ones with major structural changes (Italy, Slovenia). The causes for these...

Standardized tests are, as it is well known, a highly controversial and widely debated topic. On the one side they are considered a relatively objective tool for measuring student achievement that consumes little class time and produces useful information on which teachers, school administrators...

The agro-structural change in the Alps has been gaining intensity steadily since 1980. Farms continuously feel the pressure to adapt to changed economic, political, and social conditions. Those diverge significantly between the different alpine countries but also within a country. Based on the...

One of the advantages to analyze the economic links between two countries on the basis of stock market data, rather than aggregate economic data published by national statistical offices, is that stock market data are readily available, allowing analysis in almost real time. We consider a...

Modeling the evolution of formal institutions in relation to the evolution of economic and informal institutionaldevelopment. Discrete time optimization; simulation. The punctuations and the evolution formal institutional quality depends on the extent of economic heterogenety.

Modelin the local and central government behaviours to assess the welfare/efficiency/equity impacts of fiscal decentralization. Static optimization; simulation The relative welfare and efficiency effects of fiscal decision mechanisms (defined as social planners optimum choice of fiscal...

There is no consensus on the effects of small businesses development on poverty reduction. While some showed positive evidence, others have shown weak relationship.Those that showed negative or weak relationship did not indicate the factors responsible for this.Most of the existing studies have...