What determines productivity level in the long run? Evidence from Italians regions

In this paper we estimate the long-run relationship between total factor productivity, R&D capital stock and human capital in the Italian regions between 1980 and 2001. We exploit recent developments of panel cointegration techniques to estimate the cointegration relationship, allowing for endogeneity and heterogeneity of regional cointegration vectors. The evidence shows that there exists a long-run equilibrium among the variables and that human capital elasticity is larger than R&D elasticity. Conditioned on the long-run equilibrium, we set out an Error Correction Model of TFP growth. In this framework, we test for exogeneity of TFP determinants, by carrying out Granger-causality tests. Our findings show that human capital is exogenously generated out of the model, while TFP and R&D are simultaneously determined.

The effect of investment tax credit: Evidence from an atypical programme in Italy

This paper examines how business investment responds to investment tax credit, as enacted by ItalyÂ’s Law 388/2000. To assess whether the programme made investments possible that otherwise would not have been made, it exploits some features of the tax credit scheme, such as the fact that some Italian regions are not deemed eligible or that the amount of the bonus differs across eligible regions. Although the programme was fiscally unsustainable, and was therefore downsized well ahead of the expiry date, our findings suggest that it has been effective in stimulating investment.investment incentives, state aid

What determines productivity level in the long run? Evidence from Italians regions

In this paper we estimate the long-run relationship between total factor productivity, R&D capital stock and human capital in the Italian regions between 1980 and 2001. We exploit recent developments of panel cointegration techniques to estimate the cointegration relationship, allowing for endogeneity and heterogeneity of regional cointegration vectors. The evidence shows that there exists a long-run equilibrium among the variables and that human capital elasticity is larger than R&D elasticity. Conditioned on the long-run equilibrium, we set out an Error Correction Model of TFP growth. In this framework, we test for exogeneity of TFP determinants, by carrying out Granger-causality tests. Our findings show that human capital is exogenously generated out of the model, while TFP and R&D are simultaneously determined

Evaluating the impact of investment incentives - the case of the Italian Law 488

Since the second half of the '90s, investment incentives channelled through the Law 488 have represented the main policy instrument for reducing territorial disparities in Italy. From 1996 to 2003, the total amount of funds distributed to industrial firms has accounted for 16 billion of euro, involving 27,846 financed projects, mainly in southern regions. The Law 488 allows firms willing to invest in lagged areas to receive a public subsidy that covers a fraction of the investment outlays. The incentives are assigned through competitive auctions according to pre-determined specific criteria, such as the proportion of own funds invested in the project; the number of jobs involved and the value of assistance sought as a proportion of the maximum award rate applicable to the project. This paper aims at evaluating the impact of Law 488 subsidies on firms' investment by using the econometric tools of program evaluation. We employ a unique dataset provided by the Italian Ministry of Industry, which records all the firms that have requested the grants (either subsidised or non subsidised firms), and match these data with the balance sheet information from the Company Account Data Service for the period 1994-2001. Our matched dataset allows us to evaluate whether the Law 488 made it possible investments that otherwise would not have been done. In doing so, we tackle two issues that have plagued the empirical analyses so far. First, we analyse the extent to which investments have been triggered by intertemporal substitution. In expectation of the introduction of the Law 488 firms could have postponed (anticipated) investment projects originally planned for the pre (post) Law 488 period. Second, we study the role of cross-sectional substitution. Subsidised firms could have taken some of the investment opportunities that non subsidised firm would have got in absence of the incentives

Modellizzazione del tasso di assorbimento idrico e nutritivo della gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus, cv. Vital) coltivata in idroponica

L’elemento tecnico più importante nella coltivazione fuori suolo è l’alimentazione idrica e nutritiva della coltura effettuata attraverso la fertirrigazione, cioè la somministrazione congiunta di acqua e sali minerali. Lo studio delle relazioni tra le condizioni ambientali e la crescita, l’assorbimento idrico e nutritivo della coltura può consentire lo sviluppo di modelli matematici da implementare in software di gestione, anche relativamente semplici, o di simulazione da utilizzare, ad esempio, in fase di pianificazione produttiva a livello aziendale o addirittura di comprensorio produttivo. Lo studio condotto per la tesi ha avuto come obiettivo principale la modellizzazione dei consumi di acqua e di elementi nutritivi di una coltura su substrato (lana di roccia) a ciclo chiuso di gerbera, condotta simulando la disponibilità di acqua irrigua di diversa qualità (alta o bassa salinità). La scelta di questa specie è stata motivata dalla sua importanza commerciale e dalla sua relativa sensibilità allo stress salino. Più in particolare, per l’assorbimento minerale sono stati considerati diversi modelli, di tipo meccanicistico oppure empirico-statistici (modelli di regressione), con il tasso di crescita e di consumo di acqua tra le variabili indipendenti. Per l’assorbimento idrico, invece, è stato calibrato e validato il modello di traspirazione proposto da Baille et al. (1994), che è una semplificazione del modello fisico di Penman-Monteith e che è stato testato in numerose specie (cetriolo, Medrano et al., 2005; zucchino, Rouphael e Colla G., 2004; rosa, Kittas et al., 1999; Suay et al., 2003; pomodoro, Boulard e Jeema., 1993), compresa la gerbera, oggetto di uno studio di Marfà et al. (2000) pur meno dettagliato di quello riportato in questa tesi. Se soddisfacenti sono stati i risultati relativi alla calibrazione e validazione del modello della traspirazione, mentre i modelli di nutrizione minerale, di varia natura, hanno dimostrato una minore capacità di simulare (quindi, prevedere) il tasso (settimanale) di assorbimento di elementi minerali. Il fatto che, dal punto di vista statistico, i risultati migliori siano stati ottenuti considerando, in un modello di regressione, il tasso di crescita e di assorbimento idrico (peraltro, positivamente correlati tra di loro), suggerisce un’ipotesi per un ulteriore esperimento: verificare se quest’ultimo influenza la nutrizione minerale attraverso un genuino effetto fisiologico, legato al flusso di massa a livello radicale, oppure attraverso un effetto indiretto, cioè condizionando il rifornimento minerale, come in effetti è stato in questo studio, in cui il consumo idrico della coltura era automaticamente compensato aggiungendo soluzione nutritiva completa al sistema idroponico

La Carta dei diritti nella crisi del processo di integrazione: la discutibile svolta della giurisprudenza costituzionale = The Charter of Rights in the crisis of the integration process: the controversial turn of constitutional jurisprudence'. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.IT – 373/2018

The paper analyses the decision n. 269/2017 by the Italian Constitutional Court and the complex obiter dictum which limits the power of the italian judges of not application of internal norms in conflict with the norms ( self executing) of the Charter of fundamental rights of European Union, when the internal norms break at the same time the European Bill of rights and the Italian Fundamental Charter of 1948. The decision n. 269 is not consistent with the Jurisprudence of Luxembourg Court and weakens the process of building an european ius commune on the basis of the values, principles and rights of the Nice Charter. A stronger application of the Charter is, today, a rational and realistic way to defend the “European dream” as sketched in the “Ventotene Manifesto”

USMENA KULTURA KAO NARODNA KULTURA: MANJE I VIŠE

Na pitanje o mogućnosti definiranja narodne kulture kao usmene (i obrnuto) autor odgovara odbijajući svaku čvrstu i unaprijed utvrđenu kvalifikaciju kulture, a narodnu kulturu vidi kao kulturu društvene baze. Narodna tradicija crpe iz društvene memorije, povijesne tradicije koja ne mora uvijek biti samo usmena, nego može biti i pisana i likovna, ili miješana. Polazeći od stare Tylorove definicije, Bronzini smatra da je potrebno razmotriti faktore koji narodnu kulturu određuju kao povijesnu tradiciju. a naročito je važno istraživanje vremena i načina produkcije koji uvjetuju njezine funkcije

The effect of investment incentives: an assessment of Law 488/1992

Since the second half of the ’90s, investment incentives channeled through the Law 488 have represented the main policy instrument for reducing territorial disparities in Italy. From 1996 to2003, the total amount of funds distributed to industrial firms has accounted for 16 billions of Euro involving 27,846 financed projects mainly in the southern regions. The Law 488 allows firms willing to invest in lagged areas to receive a public subsidy that covers a fraction of the investment outlays. The incentives are assigned through competitive auctions according to pre-determined specific criteria, such as the proportion of own funds invested in the project; the number of jobs involved and the proportion of assistance sought. This paper aims at evaluating the impact of Law 488 subsidies on firms’ investment. We employ a linked dataset that matches for all the firms that have applied for the grants –both subsidized firms and firms with rejected applications,– the features of the Law 488 intervention with financial account data that covers both pre-intervention and post-intervention periods. The focus is to evaluate whether the Law 488 made it possible investments that otherwise would not have been done. In doing so, we compare the investment performance of subsidized firms with that of the firms that applied for the grants but were not financed. We analyze the extent to which investments have been triggered by intertemporal substitution (firms could have anticipated investment projects originally planned for the post-intervention period to take advantage of the incentives). Moreover, we study the role of cross-sectional substitution (subsidized firms could have taken some of the investment opportunities that non-subsidized firms would have got in absence of the incentives). We find that financed firms have substantially increased their investments when compared with the pool of rejected application firms. We also find evidence of intertemporal substitution: financed firms slow down significantly their investment activity in the years following the program. Finally, the impact of the L488 is more pronounced when the size of the market where the firms compete is small or when the firms are close as for their industrial distance, so to suggest that financed firms displace their non-financed competitors.incentivi; disparità territoriali

Children’s winter training in Kayak: a multilateral approach

Children’s approach to Kayak as a sport takes place at about the age of ten. The winter weather conditions of the Northern Italian valley do not usually permit training at the river for a long period of time. Additionally the weather increases the risk of the boat to turn over in case of imperfect control. For this reason we have elaborated a training scheme in which going out on the boat starts in April when the temperature (both of the water and the atmosphere) begins to raise

Two days, two marathons: superman?

The river marathon races are characterized by a duration longer than two hours, with intermissions at predetermined distances depending on the route. In these intermissions the athletes make portages where the competitors carry their canoes in a foot race with a distance of about 150 meters, and then they resumes paddling