Is playing alone in the darkness sufficient to prevent informational cascades?

Models of herd behaviour and informational cascades were theoretically developed in 1992 respectively by Banerjee (A simple model of herd behavior) and Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer and Welch (A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades). Both articles pointed out the existence of an information externality that causes a welfare loss, and both proposed the idea that destroying an amount of information may turn out in a social improvement. Although this is an old idea and in the last years many features of herd behaviour and informational cascades were studied, this particular aspect was never developed or extensively analysed. In this article we will try to investigate this hypothesis both theoretically and experimentally.Informational Cascades; Individual Decision Making; Experiments; Information Externality

On the absorbability of herd behaviour and informational cascades: an experimental analysis

A theory is said to be fully absorbable whenever its own acceptance by all of the individuals belonging to a certain population does not question its predictive validity. This accounts for strategic equilibria and can be related to the logic underlying convergence of behaviour and intentional herding in sequential games. This paper discusses the absorbability of informational cascades' theory by bounded rational decision-makers and analyses whether providing individuals with theoretic information on informational cascades affects overall probability of herding phenomena to occur as well as whether an incorrect cascade can be reversed because of bounded rational adapting of the theory's prescriptive. --Theory absorption,Herd behaviour,Informational cascades

ON THE ABSORBABILITY OF HERD BEHAVIOUR AND INFORMATIONAL CASCADES: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

A theory is said to be fully absorbable whenever its own acceptance by all of the individuals belonging to a certain population does not question its predictive validity. This accounts for strategic equilibria and can be related to the logic underlying convergence of behaviour and intentional herding in sequential games. This paper discusses the absorbability of informational cascades’ theory by bounded rational decision-makers and analyses whether providing individuals with theoretic information on informational cascades affects overall probability of herding phenomena to occur as well as whether an incorrect cascade can be reversed because of bounded rational adapting of the theory’s prescriptive.Theory absorption, Herd behaviour, Informational cascades

Do we really need regional innovation agencies? Some insights from the experience of an Italian region

Increasing globalization, if properly exploited, can provide interesting opportunities for regional economies. Nevertheless, when they are not managed with a far-sighted approach, regions, and particularly those at an intermediate level of development, can lose their comparative advantages compared to regions of developing countries. Innovation is the main instrument for improving and ensuring competitiveness to enterprises and growth opportunities to local economies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of public policies in reinforcing regional innovation systems, and the role of regional innovation agencies. With this in mind, we describe the policies implemented by the Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation (ARTI) of Apulia, a region in Southern Italy. We also provide the first assessment of ARTI’s activities and provide some suggestions on how to improve regional R&D policies.public policy; innovation; regional innovation system; regional competitiveness

A three dimensional approach to regional Smart Specialization Strategy; An application to Puglia Region

The aim of this paper is to describe an analytical tool able to support policy makers in defining regional policy for entrepreneurship. Given the growing interest about the themes of smart specialization assigned as policy objectives to the Regions, focus of the paper is at the regional level. The three-dimensional strategic analysis considers simultaneously three kinds of data for each industrial sector: spatial concentration, cost competitiveness and export weight. Each of the three dimensions considered can be seen in turn as a specialization index since the data are related to the performance recorded at national level (benchmark). Depending on position (quarter) occupied by a specific sector in a graph, policy makers can have at one sight the relative weight of that sector in the regional economy and could have support in defining policies accordingly. As an application, the paper presents last official available data for Puglia manufacturing sectors (2013). Moreover, the analysis could be also simply utilised to realize temporal comparisons. As an example, comparison between data for 2008 and 2013 have highlighted how Puglia has lost competitive advantages over time due to the economic crisis. However, analysis also shows how, in the same years, careful sectorial policies implemented (aerospace) has enabled the Region to emerge in this medium-high technology market also at an international level. Once reached the full availability of homogeneous and internationally comparable data, the same analytical framework could be easily extended to assess the status of different national economies for drawing policy recommendations also at higher territorial levels

A three dimensional approach to regional Smart Specialization Strategy; An application to Puglia Region

The aim of this paper is to describe an analytical tool able to support policy makers in defining regional policy for entrepreneurship. Given the growing interest about the themes of smart specialization assigned as policy objectives to the Regions, focus of the paper is at the regional level. The three-dimensional strategic analysis considers simultaneously three kinds of data for each industrial sector: spatial concentration, cost competitiveness and export weight. Each of the three dimensions considered can be seen in turn as a specialization index since the data are related to the performance recorded at national level (benchmark). Depending on position (quarter) occupied by a specific sector in a graph, policy makers can have at one sight the relative weight of that sector in the regional economy and could have support in defining policies accordingly. As an application, the paper presents last official available data for Puglia manufacturing sectors (2013). Moreover, the analysis could be also simply utilised to realize temporal comparisons. As an example, comparison between data for 2008 and 2013 have highlighted how Puglia has lost competitive advantages over time due to the economic crisis. However, analysis also shows how, in the same years, careful sectorial policies implemented (aerospace) has enabled the Region to emerge in this medium-high technology market also at an international level. Once reached the full availability of homogeneous and internationally comparable data, the same analytical framework could be easily extended to assess the status of different national economies for drawing policy recommendations also at higher territorial levels

Experimental Economics: Some Methodological Notes

The aim of this work is presenting in a self-contained paper some methodological aspects as they are received in the current experimental literature. The purpose has been to make a critical review of some very influential papers dealing with methodological issues. In other words, the idea is to have a single paper where people first approaching experimental economics can find summarised (some) of the most important methodological issues. In particular, the focus is on some methodological practises still debated in experimental literature, such as attainment of control in experimental settings, subject pool, incentive mechanisms, repeated trials and learning. The hope is that increasing awareness on some sharing methodologies will improve the robustness of results in this research field

Experimental Economics: Some Methodological Notes

The aim of this work is presenting in a self-contained paper some methodological aspects as they are received in the current experimental literature. The purpose has been to make a critical review of some very influential papers dealing with methodological issues. In other words, the idea is to have a single paper where people first approaching experimental economics can find summarised (some) of the most important methodological issues. In particular, the focus is on some methodological practises still debated in experimental literature, such as attainment of control in experimental settings, subject pool, incentive mechanisms, repeated trials and learning. The hope is that increasing awareness on some sharing methodologies will improve the robustness of results in this research field

La Figlia di Iorio di Gabriele D'Annunzio e Francesco Paolo Michetti: la rappresentazione letteraria e visiva come "pre-testo" per una lettura musicale

EnIn the first half of the XX century the knowledge and the recovery of faraway cultures or those normally foreign to the western cultivated milieus brought about the development of a musical style characterized by the taste of exoticism and archaism. This aspect was not only perceived in the musical field but also in the arts in general. At Francavilla al Mare (Chieti) in the former Franciscan convent of Santa Maria del Gesù, the painter Francesco Paolo Michetti together with other artists shared the project to reach a form of art which would synthesize their different experiences and focus on the theme of nature and the Abruzzo people. These common interests brought about the meeting between Gabriele D'Annunzio and Michetti, opening the way to the rustic tragedy The daughter of Iorio. This play, full of visual and musical expressions, was characterized by an exotic dimension, overflowing with colour, rhythm, light and folk songs.This paper focuses on the link between visual, literary and musical representations of La figlia di Iorio, with particular emphasis on the music and on the several recreations stimulated by this subject playing the role of 'pre-text' during the twentieth century.ItNella prima metà del XX secolo la conoscenza, il recupero e la considerazione di culture distanti o normalmente estranee all’ambito occidentale colto, costituirono la spinta verso un’espressione musicale caratterizzata dall’arcaismo, dal gusto del primordiale e dell’esotico. Tale urgenza fu avvertita non solo nell’ambito musicale ma anche in quello più generale delle arti tutte.A Francavilla al Mare, (Chieti) nell’ex convento francescano di S. Maria del Gesù, il pittore Francesco Paolo Michetti condivise con altri artisti il progetto di giungere a una forma d’arte che sintetizzasse le loro diverse esperienze e che avesse come temi la natura e la gente d’Abruzzo. Da questi interessi comuni si generò l’incontro tra Gabriele D’Annunzio e Michetti, aprendo la strada alla tragedia rustica La figlia di Iorio, densa di espressioni visive e musicali caratterizzate da una dimensione esotica e multiforme, traboccante di colori, ritmo, luce e canti popolari. Il contributo intende indagare su La figlia di Iorio, con particolare riguardo al rapporto che intercorre tra le rappresentazioni visive, letterarie e musicali ad essa relative e con uno sguardo privilegiato alla musica e alle numerose ricreazioni che tale soggetto ha sollecitato nel corso del Novecento, giocando il ruolo di ‘pre-testo’

ON THE ABSORBABILITY OF HERD BEHAVIOUR AND INFORMATIONAL CASCADES: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

A theory is said to be fully absorbable whenever its own acceptance by all of the individuals belonging to a certain population does not question its predictive validity. This accounts for strategic equilibria and can be related to the logic underlying convergence of behaviour and intentional herding in sequential games. This paper discusses the absorbability of informational cascades’ theory by bounded rational decision-makers and analyses whether providing individuals with theoretic information on informational cascades affects overall probability of herding phenomena to occur as well as whether an incorrect cascade can be reversed because of bounded rational adapting of the theory’s prescriptive