This paper uses annual data for the period 1970-2006 in order to estimate and investigate the evolution of the Mexican informal economy. In order to do so, we model the informal economy as a latent variable and try to explain it through relationships between possible cause and indicator...

This paper carries out an empirical assessment of the causal nexus connecting social capital's diverse aspects to the "quality" of economic development in Italy. The analysis accounts for three main social capital dimensions (i.e. bonding, bridging and linking social capital) and measures them...

Worldwide human trafficking (HT) is the third most often registered international criminal activity, ranked only after drug and weapon trafficking. The aim of the paper is to measure the extent of HT inflows to destination countries. It proposes the application of the Multiple Indicators...

Worldwide human trafficking (HT) is the third most often registered international criminal activity, ranked only after drug and weapon trafficking. The aim of the paper is to measure the extent of HT inflows to destination countries. It proposes the application of the Multiple Indicators...

The authors study the prediction of latent variables in a finite mixture of linear structural equation models. The latent variables can be viewed as well-defined variables measured with error or as theoretical constructs that cannot be measured objectively, but for which proxies are observed....

This paper analyses the effects of the EU Cohesion Policy (CP) on the economic growth of 276 European NUTS-2 regions between 2008 and 2016. Using a structural equation model (SEM) consisting of both a measurement component (with two latent variables) and a structural component, we estimate the...

This study explores the estimation of the VAT gap using the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model, a specific type of structural equation model. The VAT gap, a significant indicator of tax revenue loss and inefficiency in VAT collection, is treated as a latent variable driven by...

The study of eco-labeled product purchasing behavior usually starts from a multidisciplinary set of fundamental theories and models depending on the approach towards the ecological behavior of the consumer. The proposed conceptual model is based on quantitative research on the intention of...

Cluster policies (CPs) are said to be one of the crucial elements supporting the innovativeness of local and regional economies. However, what drives the success of CPs has not been made fully explicit. We tested the impact of perceived quality and strength of social capital (SC) and the formal...