EMILIA-ROMAGNA IN THE TIME OF THE CRISIS: THE INDICATOR OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND THE SPECIALISATION OF PRODUCTION AND TRADE

This paper aims at providing some evidence of the short-term and long-term changes occurred in the Italian regional economies following the economic downturn. Our analysis will combine the use of structural and coincident indicators to describe the specialization of the region Emilia Romagna and its economic performance during the crisis. We adopt the Indicator of the Regional Economic Activity – IREA (Brasili, Benni 2006) to proxy the regional business cycle and give a timely picture of its economic performance till September 2010. The IRAE overcomes the deficit of the regional GDP – which is released with considerable delays by the national statistical authorities – by using a set of timely and high-frequency variables that tend to move in concert with the GDP. For our assessment of the regional specialization, we will proceed to the reconstruction of a pre-crisis scenario of specialization, using a set of structural indexes. Then, we will study the conjunctural changes occurred in the main sectors of specialization. We will complement our analysis by studying the evolution of the trade specialization through the index of “relative comparative advantages†(Lafay 1992). In the final section, we will compare the specialization models of Emilia-Romagna, Toscana and Lombardia and discuss their vulnerability to disruptive shocks in the short and long term.

Non parametric methods to assess the role of the CAP in regional convergence in Hungary

Using the stochastic kernel, we analyse the Hungarian convergence path before and after accession to the European Union (EU), within its NUTS 3 regions (counties), and between those of the eastern EU Member States. Then, we develop a convergence analysis of GDP per capita PPS (Purchasing Power Parity) conditioned to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds, in order to understand the role of the introduction of the CAP in the convergence of Hungarian rural areas. We find increasing divergence both within Hungarian NUTS 3 regions and between the eastern EU MS NUTS 3 regions, especially after Hungary joined the EU; a limited contribution of the CAP to the catching up of rural areas; and persisting difficulties of working with lacking rural disaggregated statistics

Non parametric methods to assess the role of the CAP in regional convergence in Hungary

Using the stochastic kernel, we analyse the Hungarian convergence path before and after accession to the European Union (EU), within its NUTS 3 regions (counties), and between those of the eastern EU Member States. Then, we develop a convergence analysis of GDP per capita PPS (Purchasing Power Parity) conditioned to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds, in order to understand the role of the introduction of the CAP in the convergence of Hungarian rural areas. We find increasing divergence both within Hungarian NUTS 3 regions and between the eastern EU MS NUTS 3 regions, especially after Hungary joined the EU; a limited contribution of the CAP to the catching up of rural areas; and persisting difficulties of working with lacking rural disaggregated statistics

Performance assessment of thermal simulation approaches of wine storage buildings based on experimental calibration

Wine storage building should be designed to maintain specific indoor temperature conditions to ensure wine preservation. With this purpose, the goal of this study is the identification of an effective and efficient modeling approach suitable for common typologies of wine storage buildings. The specific aim is the assessment of the reliability and precision of different solutions for the discretization in thermal zones of the internal volume through horizontal "airwalls", based on the comparison between digital simulation outputs with real recorded thermal data. Two different modeling approaches are analyzed through EnergyPlus thermal simulation software, by considering internal space consisting of one or two thermal zones. Simulation results are compared with data monitored for three years over a significant study case, and undergo a validation and acceptability procedure. The method proved to be a valid tool to assess results reliability in aboveground building modeling. The correctness of the use of "airwall" as horizontal partition was also verified. Results could help designers to optimize the building energy modeling

Gli interventi a favore dell'agricoltura regionale

Il capitolo analizza i flussi finanziari di origine nazionale e comunitaria, di cui ha beneficiato il sistema agroalimentare regionale nel corso del 201