Effects of political-economic integration and trade liberalization on exports of Italian Quality Wines Produced in Determined Regions (QWPDR)

The aim of this work is to explain the magnitude of the trade flows for high quality wine from Italy to its main importing countries. This objective has been reached by establishing an appropriate econometric model derived from an extended form of the “Gravity Model”. This model has been broadly applied to the analysis of international trade because it provides robust estimates. The results obtained and the model itself are useful in forecasting potential trends in the exportation of high quality Italian wines. In particular, these estimates give a quantitative evaluation of the export gains that could result from the enlargement of the EU and from an increasing liberalization in international trade. Moreover, it is possible to identify the growing markets where Italian ventures could exploit certain promotional and communication strategies.Italy, Exports, QWPDR, Integration, Gravity Model

Agritourism flows to Italy: an analysis of determinants using the gravity model approach

Tourism represents one of the most important income sources for Italy. In recent years, apart from “traditional” destinations, tourism supply is widely changing in order to satisfy the customers “love for variety” and valorise marginal resources, then new formulas are emerging (e.g. agritourism). This work aims to elaborate and estimate an econometric model able to adequately explain the size of agritourists flows to Italy from main partner countries using the gravity model approach that has been broadly applied to the analysis of international flows. In this work, the “basic” model has been enlarged and improved with the introduction of other explicative variables. The results has allowed to confirm empirical validity of the gravity model in studying international flows of any nature. Furthermore, the estimated econometric model represents a useful analytical instrument to describe, and, eventually, predict demand of foreign visitors for agritourist vacations in Italy.Gravity Model, Agritourism, Rural tourism, Tourism flows, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

New challenges and opportunities for Italian exports of table wines and high quality wines

Competition in international wine market has recently become more intense because of several factors and, in particular, the progressive reduction in world-wide consumption, the addition of new producing countries such as Australia, Chile, the USA and South Africa (the so called New World wine producers) and the increasing trade liberalization. In order to achieve a competitive advantage in the international marketplace, it is very important to identify which markets are characterized by bigger attractiveness. In particular, the ability of a producer, a region or a country to provide effective communication and promotion actions towards more profitable local markets is strategic in international trade. Italy, one of the first wine producing country in the world, exports its wines to almost all countries of the five continents. However, the five greater importing countries account for 70 percent of Italy’s total wine exports (the USA, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada) and so Italy shows only a moderate market diversification. In this paper, an econometric model able to explain the size of wine export flows from Italy to its main importing countries was elaborated and estimated. This model provides useful information that can help to identify the main growing markets where all participants in the wine supply-chain, such as private wineries, joint-ventures, regional and national agencies, and producers’ associations, can unite to concentrate product communication and promotional efforts. The model is an extended version of the “gravity model” that many economists believe a very powerful tool for international trade analysis. In fact, at the empirical level, the gravity model gives very robust estimates and provides a good fit to the observed data. The basic concept of the gravity model for trade analysis borrows the gravity equation from physics: the volume of trade between two countries is proportional to their economic “mass” and inversely proportional to their respective distance. In this work, the investigation about the features of Italian wine export flows is conducted through the estimation of two different econometric models; the first one is related to QWPDR and second one is related to table wine category. Both models derive from an extended version of the basic gravity model where dummies for groups of countries have been added. An important result is that Italy should increase the production of high quality wine because there are favorable conditions in place which would increase exportation. At the same time, Italy should decrease the production of table wine because its international demand is declining. Moreover, estimation results show that both QWPDR and table wine exportations are income elastic. Hence, if Italian wine producers intend to expand their exportations, it is natural to look at those countries where income growth is high but also constant and solid. It is interesting to highlight that, among countries with the highest income growth rates, there are three very big countries, China, Russia and India, where expansion possibilities for Italian wine exports are very attractive. Currently, these countries import less than 1% of total exports of Italian wine. At the same time, it is important to highlight that the main countries importing Italian wine (the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and almost all western European countries) show a moderate but stable income growth and therefore it would be strategic to defend and consolidate Italian market shares against any possible aggressions by the new wine producing countries. The recent enlargement of the EU could represent a great opportunity for the exporters of Italian wine. In particular, it is interesting to note that all new EU members and, in particular, the Baltic Republics (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) show high income growth rates. In addition, as widely known, there are no customs barriers within the European Union but instead there is a common external tariff applied to imports from non-EU countries. Therefore, these countries represent very interesting, and as yet untapped, markets even if, in the next years, there are real possibilities to expand mainly table wine exports because the income, although rapidly increasing, remains still moderate.Italian Wine; Trade; Gravity model; Exports

Latent sprawl patterns and the spatial distribution of businesses in a southern European city

The relocation of businesses beyond the consolidated city is an important aspect of recent urbanization trends. With economic restructuring driven by suburbanization and counter-urbanization, Southern European metropolitan areas experienced distinct growth patterns compared with north-western Europe. The present study assesses the impact of recent changes in the spatial distribution of businesses on land-use structure, sprawl trends and land consumption in a Mediterranean urban region (Athens, Greece) with the aim to identify economic drivers of sprawl and to inform urban containment strategies. Businesses showed two distinct localization patterns: manufacture, publishing and transport companies, construction and hotels were concentrated in urban municipalities; real estate, finance, high-tech, telecommunication, mining and energy enterprises settled preferentially in suburban municipalities. Dispersed urban expansion mainly reflects the spatial relocation of economic activities with high returns on capital to cheaper land. High-tech enterprises and finance/real estate businesses dominated the economic structure of municipalities with sprawled settlements. Policies securing economic development and a land-saving spatial structure are increasingly required to work towards integrated measures promoting semi-compact metropolitan poles and containing deregulated urban expansion

Modelli per la pianificazione logistica nei servizi sanitari di emergenza-urgenza

L’individuazione di modelli decisionali per le scelte di natura logistica relative ai servizi sanitari di emergenza-urgenza negli ultimi tempi hanno assunto una maggiore importanza sia per motivazioni di carattere sociale, sia per motivi di carattere economico. La concentrazione delle strutture sanitarie sul territorio e, quindi, l’eliminazione di molti centri di assistenza sanitaria, operata da parte delle Regioni italiane nel quadro della riduzione della spesa del servizio sanitario nazionale, ha fatto crescere l’attenzione degli utenti verso i servizi logistici di emergenza urgenza comunemente definiti come trasporti di pronto soccorso. Di conseguenza, anche i public policy maker devono ora affrontare il problema di conciliare le istanze sociali con quelle di minimizzazione della spesa della logistica per servizi di emergenza urgenza. A quest’ultimo proposito occorre sottolineare che le specificità sociali ed economiche di tale servizio impongono un elevato livello di rigore analitico per quanto concerne, la valutazione, da un lato, dell’andamento tendenziale delle esigenze collettive, dall’altro, della capacità del servizio di rispondere al reale bisogno della domanda nella sua articolazione territoriale. L’emergenza-urgenza costituisce un particolare segmento dell’offerta di servizi sanitari che si caratterizza per l’elevata complessità causata dell’aleatorietà degli eventi e dalla forte interazione spaziale tra il luogo di origine della domanda e il luogo in cui è possibile erogare il relativo servizio. Se poi l’erogazione avviene in un contesto territoriale caratterizzato da una morfologia eterogenea (montana e collinare), appare evidente il grado di complessità a cui si va incontro nella progettazione e gestione del servizio stesso. In tale ambito, il presente lavoro è teso ad illustrare un modello per ottimizzare la localizzazione e il livello di fornitura dei servizi in considerazione delle variabili territoriali (distanze e vie di comunicazione, etc.) e sociali (popolazione, attività economiche, etc.). Il presente lavoro costituisce la base per una futura applicazione empirica relativamente al caso della Regione siciliana (per ora limitata alla sola provincia di Messina). La scelta di questo territorio come base di studio deriva dal fatto che esso presenta peculiarità tali da rendere i modelli di micro-simulazione, che si desidera utilizzare per ottimizzare le scelte decisionali nel campo della logistica di emergenza urgenza, generalizzabili ad altre realtà anche meno complesse di quella da noi presa in considerazione

Immunogenetics and HPLC analyses contribute to understanding the etiopathology of rheumatoid arthritis through studies on ancient human remains.

Genetic investigations on ancient human remains affected by rheumatological pathologies are a research field of particular interest for identifying origins and the etiopathology of diseases, especially those having an autoimmune background such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We wish to demonstrate how reliable studies concerning this topic require collaboration between multiple disciplines, usually starting from paleopathologic observations up to immunogenetic screening, even involving analytical chemistry. Here, we focused our investigation on the skeleton of Cardinal Carlo de'Medici (1595–1666) for whom RA and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were postulated after paleopathologic examination. RA susceptibility is linked to specific HLA alleles belonging to DRB1*04 locus, such as DRB1*0401, while Cw*0602 and DRB1*07 predispose to PsA. Thus, we genotyped the Cardinal's remains to search for RA or PsA "risk genes". Ancient DNA is often subjected to hydrolysis followed by fragmentation. For this reason, all immunogenetic tests were preceded by an original RP-HPLC-FL method able to inform on the ancient DNA preservation and the extent of contamination, with the purpose of avoiding the risk of false positive results. After DNA isolation from a piece of bone from the Cardinal, PCR-SSP and reverse-SSO hybridization assays were applied to perform genomic HLA-typing. RP-HPLC-FL analysis revealed a good preservation of DNA without contamination by exogenous genomes. Molecular tests assigned to the Cardinal the genotype DRB1*0401/*1102 for HLA-DRB locus and Cw*04/*12 for HLA-C locus, data that support a genetic predisposition for RA but not for PsA. This multidisciplinary study has allowed us: (i) to ascertain that the remains undoubtledy belonged to the specific subject, Cardinal Carlo de'Medici; (ii) to sustain that the subject suffered from RA rather then that PsA, and (iii) to state that RA was already widespread in Europe at the Renaissance age, despite some authors claiming that the disease was introduced to the Old Continent from America after colonization during the 18th centur

Recession, resilience, local labour markets: wealthier is better?

Economic expansion and recession have shaped the long-term evolution of local economic systems, exemplifying causes and consequences of territorial disparities and alimenting the debate on regional resilience. The present study investigates changes (2004–2013) in the spatial structure of two labour market indicators in Italy (participation and unemployment rates) during the most recent expansion and recession waves, so as to identify socioeconomic and territorial factors influencing short-term performances of local labour markets. Specialization in advanced industry (such as precision mechanics) is one of the most important factors associated to low employment losses during recession in Italy. Our results offers a contribution to the debate on regional resilience by reconnecting it to the more general issue of spatial disparities. We aim to shed light on the impact of institutional change and external shocks on the evolutionary path of local economic systems

Towards (spatially) unbalanced development? A joint assessment of regional disparities in socioeconomic and territorial variables in Italy

The present study assesses disparities in the spatial distribution of three indicators evaluating respectively economic growth (per capita value added), sustainable development (a sustainable development index composing 99 individual variables) and the quality of the natural capital (Environmental Sensitive Area Index composing 14 individual variables) in Italy. The analysis was carried out on three different geographical domains (3 divisions (north, central and south Italy), 20 administrative regions and 103 provinces) with municipalities as the elementary spatial unit. While the distribution of the three indicators was coherent across space, the coefficient of variation of the three indicators, taken as a proxy of regional disparities, showed a contrasting spatial pattern. Domains with higher average values of the sustainable development index showed a lower variability among municipalities, indicating a less divided territorial context. By contrast, income and natural capital disparities are decoupled from the average level of the respective indexes. Multivariate analysis identifies a north-south gradient reflecting the divide between competitive and economically-disadvantaged regions in Italy. Results provide an informative base to implement sustainability policies in countries characterized by persistent socioeconomic disparitie