Private school quality in Italy

Private school enrolment may lead to worse subsequent performance in further education or in the labour market. If students differ in their ability not only to pay but to take advantage of educational opportunities (“talent” for short), private schools attract a worse pool of students when publicly funded schools are better suited to foster progress by more talented students. In the data we analyze, the impact of observable talent proxies on educational and labour market outcomes is indeed more positive for students who (endogenously) choose to attend public schools than for those who choose to pay for private education

The Effect of Multigrade Classes on Cognitive and non- Cognitive Skills. Causal Evidence Exploiting Minimum Class Size Rules in Italy

We analyse how schooling in multigrade classes affects the formation of student cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Our identification strategy is based on some institutional features of the Italian educational system establishing a minimum number of students per class. Classes that do not reach the minimum number of pupils are organized in multigrade classes. In addition, the Italian law also establishes a maximum number of students for multigrade classes, which implies that class size in multigrade classes is very similar to class size in small single grade classes with a number of students just above the minimum size. Using census data on 5th grade Italian students, we find that pupils in multigrade classrooms obtain worse test scores both in literacy and numeracy standardised tests compared to comparable pupils in single grade classroom. While the effect is small and not always statistically significant for the literacy score, we find a large and highly statistically significant effect on the numeracy score. We also find that pupils placed in multigrade classes tend to have a more external centred locus of control. Our results are robust to different specifications including controls for class size and a number of student and school characteristics

Models of unionism and unemployment

We investigate the problem of simultaneous determination of labour market institutions and outcomes in single equation multi-country estimations by presenting an empirical analysis of unemployment and union density in 20 OECD countries. When explicitly modelling potential endogeneity and heterogeneity, our results suggest that unions contribute to explaining unemployment in different ways than previously thought. In addition, the relationship between unemployment and union density is heterogeneous across countries, depending on the way in which income support for the unemployed is organize

Open Access Of Research: Which Role In The Processes Of Evaluation? Experience By The Agenzia Nazionale Di Valutazione Del Sistema Universitario E Della Ricerca (Anvur)

This article focuses on Open Access and Research Evaluation, and the experience by the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR). It is an updated version of the work presented at the Workshop "Open Science: new models of scientific communication and research evaluation", organized by Virginia Valzano at the University of Salento, on January 30, 2019

Percorsi scolastici e origini sociali nella scuola italiana

Using a representative sample of the Italian population, we study the association between drop-out and social origins. We also investigate the correlations with the secondary school track chosen by those who are able to proceed further on. Given the interplay between individual school assessment and the financial situation of the family of origin, we advance proposals for the design of possible scholarship schemes capable of contrasting dropout outcomes

La scuola come investimento

In questo capitolo si presenta evidenza recente sui rendimenti dell\u2019istruzione in Italia, utilizzando come base dati l\u2019Indagine sui Bilanci delle Famiglie Italiane, condotta bi-annualmente su un campione rappresentativo della popolazione italiana, liberamente accessibile con finalit\ue0 di ricerca.1 Il vantaggio di questa base di dati \ue8 la raccolta di informazioni dettagliate sulle diverse fonti di reddito percepito dagli individui nell\u2019arco della vita, che permettono quindi di valutare con maggior precisione le eventuali differenze reddituali eventualmente correlate al possesso di diversi titoli di studio

COVID-19 dentistry-related aspects: a literature overview

A new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) was detected in China at the end of 2019 and has since caused a worldwide pandemic. This virus is responsible for an acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19), distinguished by a potentially lethal interstitial bilateral pneumonia. Because Sars-CoV-2 is highly infective through airborne contamination, the high infection risk in the dental environment is a serious problem for both professional practitioners and patients. This literature overview provides a description of the clinical aspects of COVID-19 and its transmission, while supplying valuable information regarding protection and prevention measures

Death rates from malaria epidemics, Burundi and Ethiopia.

Death rates exceeded emergency thresholds at 4 sites during epidemics of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Burundi (2000-2001) and in Ethiopia (2003-2004). Deaths likely from malaria ranged from 1,000 to 8,900, depending on site, and accounted for 52% to 78% of total deaths. Earlier detection of malaria and better case management are needed