The Impact of International Trade on Labour Markets. The Case of Outward Processing Traffic between the European Union and Central Eastern European Countries

In this paper we are trying to evaluate the differential impact of Outward Processing Traffic (OPT) flows with respect to the final trade flows on the labour markets of EU countries. In particular, two EU countries are investigated, Germany and Italy, because of their relevance on total EU-CEEC OPT flows and because they embody two different models of outsourcing towards CEECs. The factor content of trade (FCT) analysis conducted at both levels of inter-industry trade and intra-industry trade signals a more relevant impact of OPT flows than final flows. In particular, results suggest that the labour market effects of intra-industry trade flows deriving from the vertical disintegration of production add significantly to the estimated factor market impact of trade.intra-industry trade; EU-CEEC trade; vertical disintegration; quality differentiation; labour market effects of international trade

Vertical and Horizontal Intra-Industry Trade: What is the Empirical Evidence for the UK?

Since the pioneering contributions of Balassa (1966) and Grubel and Lloyd (1975) revealed a remarkable incidence of simultaneous exports and imports within industries (intra-industry trade) in the foreign trade structure of developed countries, a large body of academic work has expanded empirical and theoretical understanding of this phenomenon.-

Openness and Growth in Central-Eastern European Countries

We present evidence of the relationship between trade-openness and growth in the sample of former communist countries before and after the transition from a central planned economy (CPE) to a market economy by applying standard OLS and panel estimation techniques. The main finding is that during the transition the importance of openness on growth per capita has increased sharply by changing the coefficient from a negative sign to a positive and significant one. The result seems to be robust to (i) estimation methods , (ii) different measures of openness adopted and (iii)consistent with the integration view, which states that a higher degree of trade openness spurred by market incentives and comparative advantages enhances the per capita growth rate of economies.economic growth, transition economies, trade openness

Quality Differentiation and the Labour Market Effects of International Trade

This paper offers a new treatment of the labour market effects of international trade, based on a model in which intra-industry trade is explained on Heckscher-Ohlin principles. The model is more consistent with stylised facts about North-South trade than the traditional Heckscher-Ohlin model of inter-industry trade. Applying the model to trade between Italy and ‘non-advanced countries’ and inferring the factor content of intra-industry trade from the inter-sectoral relationship between factor intensity and average unit values of exports, we find that the labour market effects of intra- industry trade add significantly to the estimated factor market impact of trade.intra-industry trade, North-South trade, vertical product differentiation, labour market effects of international trade

The Labour Market Effects of International Trade in the Presence of Vertical Product Differentiation: Some Methodological Remarks in Retrospect

The paper retrospectively analyses the issue of the impact of international trade on developed countries’ labour markets in the 1990s, when the majority of academic opinion denied the role of trade in the misfortunes of unskilled workers. An analytical framework is proposed in which intra-industry trade is explained in terms of countries’ factor endowments and factor intensities of goods. Unlike the traditional Heckscher–Ohlin model of inter-industry trade, the model suggested here is more consistent with stylised facts about North–South trade. The paper also proposes a method for empirically assessing factor substitution effects at the product level. Inferring the factor content of intra-industry trade from the inter-sectoral relationship between factor intensity and average unit values of exports, the paper found that the labour market effects of intra-industry trade add significantly to the estimated factor market impact of trade

Quality Differentiation, Vertical Disintegration and The Labour Market Effects of Intra-Industry Trade

The work offers a new treatment of the labour market effects of international trade building on recent developments in the literature on intra-industry trade (IIT) stressing the importance of vertical IIT. The central idea is that heterogeneity of traded goods plays a crucial role both in terms of quality differentiation and vertical fragmentation of production. The basic concepts are presented in the introductory chapter. The second chapter presents an econometric study which shows that the role of factor intensity in IIT requires that different forms of IIT are properly distinguished. In the third chapter the evaluation of the impact of trade on labour markets is studied in a model in which IIT is explained on Heckscher-Ohlin principles. Applying the model to trade between Italy and less advanced countries and inferring the factor content of intra-industry trade from the inter-sectoral relationship between factor intensity and average unit values of exports, I find that the labour market effects f intra-industry trade add significantly to the estimated factor market impact of trade. Finally, fourth chapter is a study of Outward Processing Trade flows between the EU and Central Eastern European countries: results suggest that the labour market effects of intra-industry trade flows deriving from the vertical disintegration of production are significant.-

Organized Crime, Migration and Human Capital Formation: Evidence from the South of Italy

The presence of organized crime is a pervasive feature of many developed and developing countries. Even if ‘mafia’ organizations have greatly enlarged the geographical scope of their activities, as in the past they are still deeply rooted in specific territories where their presence generates a host of influences on socio-economic performances (perverse social capital). In this paper we analyse the consequences of the presence of organized crime on the long-term accumulation of human capital, a key determinant of economic growth. To do this we build a unique dataset where - among other information - we identify municipalities where the presence of organized crime is particularly pervasive in an Italian region, Calabria, where is based one of the most powerful international criminal organization, 'Ndrangheta. Our results suggest that the presence of organized crime inhibits the accumulation of human capital both directly (reducing the incentive to invest in formal education) and indirectly by increasing migration outflows.Organized crime; human capital; social capital; migration

Il finanziamento dello sviluppo: Teorie ed evidenza empirica

The relationship between financial development and economic growth has received enormous attention in the economic literature of the last decade. The widely accepted consensus finding is that financial development has a positive effect on growth at either aggregate, or industry or firm levels. This paper aims at providing an overview of the theoretical and empirical findings. Specifically, we focus on the contribution of the Italian economists since the Seventies and point out how the finance-growth nexus was present in their research agenda. Their contributions are reviewed vis-Ã -vis the new researches trying eventually to elucidate what financial structure, banks or markets, is more conducive to the economic growth of Italian and European economies. We argue that the contribution of these Italian economists laid out already clear the main problems tackled by the recent mainstream literature.financial development; economic growth

A fragile and divided European Union meets Covid-19: further disintegration or ‘Hamiltonian moment’?

Despite being symmetric in its very nature, the Covid-19 shock is affecting European economies in a very asymmetric way, threatening to deepen the divide between core and peripheral countries even more. It is not Covid-19 itself, however, but the contradictions within the EU’s growth model and institutional architecture that would be to blame for such an outcome. The dramatic impact of the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic and the threat that it poses to Eurozone survival seem to have forced a reluctant Germany into action: a minor step, but an important signal. This note analyses the crossroads currently facing Europe—the risk of disintegration vis-a-vis the opportunity for a ‘Hamiltonian moment’— discussing possible future scenarios in the light of past developments

the influence of pregnancy and the beginning of lactation on pelage traits in cashmere goats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pregnancy followed by the beginning of lactation on fibre traits incashmere goats. Two groups of cashmere-bearing goats aged between 2-3 years were used. The control group (A) included12 non-lactating, non-pregnant subjects. The experimental group (B) included 12 goats mated during the first weekof June, in order to have pregnancy and the beginning of lactation coincide with the period when cashmere normallygrows. As expected, Liveweight significantly varied in Group B during the last two months of pregnancy, when foetalgrowth reaches its maximum, and following delivery. Hair patch weight, because of the continuous growth of primary andsecondary fibres, increased significantly during the trial (P<0.001). The physiological status considered negatively affected(P<0.05) the total mean growth rate of cashmere fibres and, as a result, their length. Cashmere daily growth ratevalues varied significantly (P<0.05) throughout the experiment, while the effect of the physiological status was notedonly in November – December. Furthermore, this parameter also seems to be influenced by climatic factors and, in particular,environmental temperature, as shown by the negative correlation (r = - 0.28; P<0.05) between cashmere dailygrowth rate and environmental temperature. Guard hair length and growth rate did not differ between the two groups,however, they were influenced by time. Cashmere yield and cashmere production were lower in group B (P<0.05). Nodifferences between groups were observed for cashmere diameter. Overall, pregnancy and the consequent period of lactationnegatively influenced cashmere rather than guard hair fibres. These negative effects were noted in quantitativeterms as yield and production dropped by 37% and 43%, respectively. We hypothesise that the complete overlap of pregnancyand lactation with the period of cashmere growth reduced the number of secondary active follicles and their degreeof activity and caused an increase in competition for the partitioning of nutrients between hair follicles and the graviduterus, first, and then the mammary gland, later