The Cassa Integrazione Guadagni, unemployment welfare and industrial conflict in post-war Italy, 1941-1987

This PhD thesis tracks the history of the Italian unemployment welfare during the second half of the twentieth century, offering an account of why the Italian system of social security never established a universal safety net against unemployment, choosing instead a social policy system targeted on the core industrial workforce. During the post-war period, Italian unemployment insurance remained severely lacking compared to other European countries. To compensate, the country relied on the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni (CIG), a short time work scheme providing a wage replacement allowance to compensate employees in the industrial sector for a temporary reduction of their working time. Starting from the late 1960s, the scope and duration of the CIG were progressively expanded to tackle manpower redundancies, catering for the weakness of other forms of support. During the 1970s and the 1980s, short time emerged as the chief instrument to cushion the economic and social consequences of the industrial crisis of the country. This thesis explains the peculiar characteristics of the Italian unemployment welfare model as a consequence of the country’s pattern of labour conflict, showing how industrial relations and social policy influenced one another. In the early postwar decades, while the unions were organisationally weak, the CIG emerged as a less expensive alternative to general unemployment insurance. This engendered a path dependent effect. Following the rise of industrial unrest and the strengthening of organised labour in the early 1970s, unions and employers favoured the increasing use of the CIG so as to protect their respective interests for job security and manpower flexibility, at the expense of the weaker strata of the labour market. Far from being a simple instrument of income maintenance, the CIG played a key role in shaping social relations of production at the work-place level and was used to diffuse industrial conflict on the shop floor. With the onset of deindustrialisation, during the 1980s, the CIG became a powerful tool for the demobilisation of organised labour.ESRC studentship 2015-2017 Ellen McArthur studentship 2015-2016 Faculty of History research fund 2015-201

Insurance regulation for development: parametrics and agriculture

Provision of agricultural insurance is highly variable, with a deficit for the global rural poor faced with acute climate risk. Regulatory support is an enabler of widened supply of insurance, which can be pro-poor and climate adaptive in manner. The aims of this research are to: (i) assess organic evolution of agricultural parametric insurance provision; (ii) evaluate regulation of agricultural parametric insurance in Tanzania and related contexts; and (iii) construct an idealised regulatory framework to facilitate insurance as a climate risk management tool. This research draws on the launch of the WINnERS pilot programme in Tanzania, supported by literature analysis and interviews with critical market participants. It found parametric insurance regulation to be preclusive in all jurisdictions. Lack of legal certainty for multiple, foundational elements of already implemented parametric schemes prevents growth and deters market appetite. Though there is no suitable framework, there are useful elements indicative of supportive regulation. These are spatially disparate, preventing an individual insurance jurisdiction from building the necessary capacity, supply and demand for viable markets. A framework is presented which is practical and implementable, addressing the issues of regulatory comprehensiveness and coherence. It is intended to facilitate the identification of gaps and barriers as insurance regulators seek to develop the protective and promotive elements of parametric insurance as a public policy imperative.Open Acces

Measuring customer involvement in new service developments

Service marketing managers are being required to develop new services that succeed in the market and are valuable for customers. Services Marketing literature therefore stresses the need to innovate with customers and to integrate their view into the new service developed. However, consensus about the positive effects of customer involvement in new service development (NSD) has not been reached. Drawing on the theory of organisational knowledge creation and the concept of marketing orientation, we argue that customer involvement is not related to successful new services per se. However, we propose it contributes to the increase of a firm’s customer knowledge stock, the tacit and explicit dimension. The study results demonstrate that the increase in a firm’s tacit customer knowledge stock significantly affects market success, project success and sustainable competitive advantage, while the increase of explicit customer knowledge stock positively influences the acceptance of new service concept ideas initiated by customers. Both the explicit and tacit customer knowledge stock is positively influenced by the level of customer involvement. Furthermore, the internal resource-based antecedents to customer involvement decisions are investigated. Our findings illustrate that a firm’s prior tacit knowledge about customers inhibits integration of customers in NSD, whereas prior explicit customer knowledge positively affects customer involvement. As for market-driven NSD, customer orientation, and project innovativeness, the study shows different effects on stages of customer involvement. Finally, the research reveals that service firms manage customer involvement differently related to the facets of the construct, namely (1) methods and (2) stages of customer involvement. Distinct management approaches are compared and contrasted to unearth salient decision parameters. The research is based on interviews, one expert survey and one main survey, incorporating 131 respondents of diverse service firms in nine countries. Responses have been analysed in two structural equation models by Partial Least Squares (PLS) and explored by cluster analysis. We suggest that Service Marketing managers should be more attentive to the act of customer knowledge creation to manage customer integration in NSD effectively. Particularly, they should be aware of the role of tacit customer knowledge in order to develop successful new services. A tight customer orientation is not worthwhile throughout NSD, since new markets may be neglected when working too close with current customers. Furthermore, contrary to prevalent research, NSD executives should combine beneficial methods of customer involvement instead of focusing on one method. Using different methods helps managers to create divergent perspectives on customer preferences and needs, required to generate new ideas. Finally, we propose that customer involvement in NSD should not be seen as a short-term investment

Biodiversiteetin rahoitus: Luonnon monimuotoisuuteen liittyvät rahoitusriskit Suomessa

Luonnon monimuotoisuuden väheneminen ja ekosysteemipalvelujen heikkeneminen ja niihin liittyvät taloudelliset kustannukset tunnustetaan yhä useammin taloudellisten riskien lähteiksi. Riskit syntyvät luonnon monimuotoisuuteen ja ekosysteemipalveluihin liittyvien riippuvuuksien ja vaikutusten aiheuttamien fyysisten ja siirtymäriskien kautta. Siksi on tullut entistä tärkeämmäksi, että rahoituslaitokset, keskuspankit sekä finanssivalvontaviranomaiset ymmärtävät ja hallitsevat paremmin näitä riskejä. Biologisen monimuotoisuuden vähenemiseen liittyy kuitenkin erityistä monimutkaisuutta ja epävarmuutta, mikä tekee riskien hallinnasta haastavan tehtävän. Tämän tutkielman tarkoituksena oli tutkia luonnon monimuotoisuuden vähenemisen ja rahoitusvakauden välistä yhteyttä Suomessa. Tämä toteutettiin arvioimalla suomalaisten luottolaitosten taloudellista altistumista luotonannon kautta ekosysteemipalveluista riippuvaisille sektoreille. Suomen Pankista saatujen lainatietojen ja ENCORE-tietokannasta saatujen ekosysteemipalvelutietojen yhdistämiseksi tehtiin kvantitatiivinen analyysi. Tulokset osoittivat, että 23 % suomalaisten luottolaitosten myöntämistä lainoista on alttiita suurille tai erittäin suurille luonnon monimuotoisuuteen liittyville rahoitusriskeille. Eniten riskialttiita toimialoja olivat kiinteistöalan toiminta ja maatalous, metsätalous ja kalatalous. Suurimmat taloudelliset riskit olivat pintavesien ja ilmaston säätelyä tarjoavien ekosysteemipalvelujen häiriöt. Tutkielman tulokset edustavat ensimmäistä askelta arvioitaessa Suomen rahoitusjärjestelmän altistumista luonnon monimuotoisuuteen liittyville rahoitusriskeille. Tulokset ja aikaisempi kirjallisuus osoittavat, että luonnon monimuotoisuuteen liittyvät rahoitusriskit ovat merkittäviä yksittäisille rahoituslaitoksille ja koko rahoitusjärjestelmälle vallitsevista metodologisista haasteista ja tiedon puutteista huolimatta. Kattavan luonnonBiodiversity loss and ecosystem service degradation and the related economic costs are increasingly recognized as sources of financial risks. The risks are arising through physical and transition sources of risks caused by dependencies and impacts upon biodiversity and ecosystem services. Therefore, it has become increasingly important for both individual financial institutions as well as central banks and financial supervisors to better understand and manage these risks. However, biodiversity loss is associated with unique complexity and uncertainty, making it a challenging task. The purpose of this thesis was to study the linkages between biodiversity loss and financial stability in Finland. This was done by assessing the financial exposure of Finnish credit institutions to sectors dependent on ecosystem services for their production processes. A quantitative analysis was conducted in order to combine loan data obtained from the Bank of Finland and ecosystem service data obtained from the ENCORE database. The results showed that 23% of loans provided by Finnish credit institutions are exposed to high or very high biodiversity-related financial risks. The sectors associated with most value at risks were real estate and agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Disruptions of ecosystem services providing surface water and climate regulation were posing the highest financial risks. The findings represent a first step towards assessing the exposure of the Finnish financial system to biodiversity-related financial risks. The results and previous literature indicate that physical biodiversity-related financial risk exposures are significant for individual financial institutions and for the whole financial system, despite the prevailing methodological challenges and gaps in knowledge. In order to complete a comprehensive biodiversity-related financial risk assessment, further research is needed

Greenwashing and Responsible Investment Practice: Empirical Evidence from Zimbabwe

Purpose This paper aims to explore the nature of responsible investment (RI) practices in Zimbabwe from the point of view of the institutional asset owners by investigating not only how they incorporate the ESG criteria when selecting investee companies but also the elements of greenwashing and impression management. Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with Pension Fund Entities, Mutual Funds and Life Assurance companies, the authors used interpretive methodological approach to derive the symbolic RI techniques used. Findings This study discovered many symbolic acts of “greenwashing” and impression management as opposed to genuine concerns for ESG issues which are at the core of RI practice. RI is used as not only a systematic risk management instrument but also a symbolic marketing tool due to weak regulatory environment. Contrary to the significantly high public communication on RI, the actual links of the asset owners with the environmental impacts in investee companies is insignificant. The authors also found that there are clear distinctions between how foreign and local firms operating in the local economy engage on ESG matters. Practical implications This is likely to have practical implications for stewardship practices in developing jurisdictions where RI practices are puerile. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on RI dialogue by demonstrating the peculiarity of ESG engagement in a developing economy

How can finance and insurance institutions help deliver sustainable city infrastructure?

Human society may be faced with the momentous conclusion that city living is forcing collapse of the planet’s life support systems, and yet the scale of projected city infrastructure delivery is staggering. This thesis therefore examines two fundamental components that enable city infrastructure delivery – finance and insurance. The development of an evaluation and costing appraisal tool for the selection of finance and insurance is presented, demonstrating the potential for substantial cost savings. Its use can help shape a sustainable city transformation. Moreover, there are several barriers to implementation of sustainable city infrastructure, which collectively form a ‘valley of death’. This thesis examines the role of finance and insurance in speeding innovation across the valley in the form of a tool used by an ‘entrepreneurial state’, combined with participatory budgeting. Alignment to the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures requirements, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and system boundaries is shown to be practicable, efficient and urgently required. A restorative economic paradigm is argued to be the most effective way to secure a sustainable city transformation. Proposed integration of these appraisal methods into a revised and practicable route map, is presented

Phase II archaeological research at the Radisson Hotel site, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia

During the fall of 1989, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, performed an archaeological survey of the Radisson Hotel tract on the Savannah riverfront for the Columbia Sussex Corporation. Concurrently, Panamerican Consultants, Inc., of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, performed a marine survey of the shoreline area. These surveys were performed on a 3.68 acre tract of land just east of Emmet Park in downtown Savannah. The surveys were required by the Department of Natural Resources, State of Georgia, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to determine the environmental and cultural resource impacts of the proposed construction. Agency review requirements took into account the extensive maritime history of the site and the fact that submerged as well as terrestrial resources might be harmed by hotel construction activities or by construction of the associated 1200-footlongriverwalk corridor along the shoreline.https://scholar.utc.edu/archaeology-reports/1043/thumbnail.jp

Assessing the distribution of environmental stewardship organizations and their relationship to the demographics of Los Angeles County

An equal distribution of environmental stewardship organizations across the urban landscape provides an environment that facilitates community empowerment. The systemic issues found in Los Angeles County play an important role in the social development of the area. Through the utilization of modern technology and geographical mapping software, spatial distribution of environmental stewardship organizations provided an understanding of social conditions within Los Angeles County. Environmental stewardship organizations provide the capability for communities to be more engaged in helping to eliminate environmental injustice. The comparison of minority populations at the census tract-level emphasizes the importance of connecting environmental stewardship organizations with their target community at a static level of measurement. The assistance of the geographical mapping software provided the capability of conducting spatial autocorrelation, drawing the conclusion that environmental stewardship organizations are not equally distributed across Los Angeles County. The needs of the community continue to expand into different areas requiring an improvement to be made in order to improve the quality of life in various neighborhoods and the insurance of environmental equity. Currently it is difficult for organizations to cohesively work with one another to maximize their overlapping resources that would benefit the communities they provide environmental services to