The economic regulation of quality in the Italian VQPRD sector: which perspectives?

The Appellation of Origin system is aimed at reducing consumer's information costs, assuring a minimum quality standard and wine typicity, as well as maintaining a diversified supply in order to satisfy consumer s tastes heterogeneity. The effectiveness of the system is menaced by quantity and quality uncertainty, free riding phenomena, vertical relationships complexity and hold- up risks. The long term risk of the drop of the collective reputation of the Appellation justifies the economic regulation of the supply by the sectorial Organizations. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate ther role in the construction of the competitive advantage of the quality wine system. Then, the question that we address in this paper is that of the effectiveness of the supply regulation of quantity and quality in the Italian system of Appellation of Origin. We analyze the current context of the Italian Appellation of Origin Chianti Classico and the mechanisms of the supply economic regulation. At first, we describe the structural and commercial characteristics of the Appellation, the vertical relationships among the agents, the trend of the most important economic indicators of the Appellation. Then, we provide an analysis of the current mechanisms of the economic regulation of supply, from the specific production requirement s to the role of the sectorial organisation in the Appellation quality strategy. Finally, we point out the problems and the possible evolutions of the Appellation of Origin's system, in the context of the Reform of the CMO of wine.Appellation of Origin, collective reputation, economic regulation of supply, sectorial organizations, Agribusiness,

Italian wine consumer behaviour and wineries responsive capacity

This paper analyzes habits and motivations behind wine consumption in Italy and focuses on the attributes affecting wine choice, through interviews and a choice experiment approach. We show that consumers are interested in a wide concept of quality, which covers the whole production process. Both the notoriety of the industrial brand and the designation of origin constitute important quality signals. However, the use of the designation of origin to assess quality at the moment of purchase requires a certain level of product knowledge and involvement. Supermarkets and stores play an increasing role in the commercialization of wine on the final market. Nevertheless, the appreciation of private label wines is relatively low. Finally, we provide some observations on how the Italian wineries are equipped toward market requirements, according to the typologies of vertical relationship between the vine growing and the grapevine processing stages, the quantity and quality strategies.wine consumer behaviour, choice experiment, wineries strategies, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Minimum Quality Standards and brand development in agrifood chains

This paper develops an original framework to better understand the interaction between the development of brands and the quality of raw materials. We consider different levels of consumer trust for a brand and we examine the incentive for firms to improve the quality of a processed product by requiring that upstream suppliers adopt a private standard. In contrast to previous literature, the incentive for firms to develop a more stringent private standard may increase with the level of the regulated minimum quality standard. Moreover, the creation of a private standard can reduce the risk of consumer dissatisfaction while increasing the marketed quantity. Unexpected positive effects of a reinforcement of the minimum quality standard may arise, in the sense that both market access for upstream producers and consumer surplus are improved and final price may decrease with respect to simply complying with the regulation.Minimum Quality Standard, brand, vertical relationship, Agribusiness,

Agrifood safety standards, market power and consumer misperceptions

This paper analyzes how the implementation of a food safety standard affects firms strategic behaviour within the context of a food chain. We provide a formal analysis, which considers that the sanitary risk results from a strong heterogeneity of upstream production conditions and the final demand depends on consumers risk estimations (given that consumers may underestimate or, conversely, overestimate the sanitary risk). We show how downstream (processing or retailing) firms may be prompted to play a positive role with respect to food safety, either by selecting only the safest upstream producers or by encouraging the improvement of suppliers production conditions. When the degree of consumers risk misperception is relatively low, then a downstream firm may adopt the latter strategy and increase the marketed quantities as the food safety standard is improved. However, we show that the actual contamination risk is not necessarily decreasing in the level of the food safety standard.food safety standards, market power, risk misperception, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

What explains the surge in euro area sovereign spreads during the financial crisis of 2007-09?

This paper uses a dynamic panel approach to explain the determinants of widening sovereign bond yield spreads vis-à-vis Germany in selected euro area countries during the period end-July 2007 to end-March 2009, when the financial turmoil developed into a full-blown financial and economic crisis. Emphasis is given to the role of fiscal fundamentals and government announcements of substantial bank rescue packages. The paper finds that higher expected budget deficits and/or higher government debt ratios relative to Germany contributed to higher government bond yield spreads in the euro area during the analysed period. More importantly, the announcements of bank rescue packages have led to a re-assessment, from the part of investors, of sovereign credit risk, first and foremost through a transfer of risk from the private financial sector to the government. JEL Classification: E62, E43, G12Fiscal Announcements, Fiscal Policy, Sovereign Spreads

Labour tax progressivity and output volatility: evidence from OECD countries

This paper investigates empirically the effect of personal income tax progressivity on output volatility in a sample of OECD countries over the period 1982-2009. Our measure of tax progressivity is based on the difference between the marginal and the average income tax rate for the average production worker. We find supportive empirical evidence for the hypothesis that higher personal income tax progressivity leads to lower output volatility. All other factors constant, countries with more progressive personal income tax systems seem to benefit from stronger automatic stabilisers. JEL Classification: E63, E32, H10automatic stabilisers, output volatility, personal income taxes, Progressivity

Genetic Polymorphisms of the Natriuretic Peptide System in the Pathogenesis of Cardiovascular Disease: What Lies on the Horizon?

BACKGROUND: The natriuretic peptide hormone family includes various proteins characterized by similar chemical structure and shared biological functions, with important effects on the cardiovascular system. Accordingly, these molecules are widely recognized as key clinical biomarkers in the diagnosis and monitoring of heart failure, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. CONTENT: Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been recently identified in genes associated with the natriuretic system. This review provides an overview of new insights into the functional role of these genetic variants, as well as their impact on cardiovascular physiopathology and drug response. CONCLUSIONS: Noteworthy relationships between some specific polymorphisms and clinical correlates of cardiovascular disease have emerged. Nevertheless, future confirming studies are needed to substantiate the clinical relevance of such variants

Explaining the Emergence of Private Standards in Food Supply Chains

This paper provides an original theoretical framework to better understand the raise of private standards in agrifood chains. Reasons for the emergence and conditions for the effectiveness of private standards are identified, by investigating retailers' strategic behaviour and, more precisely, both interactions among retailers and upstream producers and the role of consumer behaviour vis-àvis the food safety risk. We show that a relatively strict Minimum Quality Standard (MQS) may incentive the retailer to develop an even more demanding private standard, when market-driven incentive is relatively high; this result crucially depends on consumer risk misperception. Setting a private standard may improve market access for upstream producers. In addition, it may reduce food safety risk and, at the same time, improve consumer surplus

Digital Participatory Platforms for Urban Regeneration: A Survey of Italian Case Studies

Despite the increase in the globally connected population, there is still a high percentage of European citizens who do not have basic digital skills. In the era of smart cities, the Digital Divide affects the possibility for citizens to participate in public life through the use of ICT tools. To deal with this issue, the European Union promotes strategies to develop e-government tools, such as digital participatory platforms (DPPs), in order to connect citizens with the public administration. The research proposes a survey of Italian DPPs, investigated through a questionnaire, to bring out which strategies have been adopted in relation to participation, social inclusion and digital illiteracy, transparency of data, processes, and user-friendliness of the platform. With regard to these issues, certain elements of success of the DPPs presented are highlighted

Voriconazole treatment of Candida tropicalis meningitis: persistence of (1,3)-b-D-glucan in the cerebrospinal fluid is a marker of clinical and microbiological failure

Introduction: Infections are still the most common complications of cerebral shunt procedures. Even though fungal etiologies are considered to be rare, they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Due to their uncommonness, diagnostic procedures and optimal therapy are poorly defined. We report a case of Candida tropicalis infection of ventriculo-peritoneal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt in a 49-year-old immune competent male treated with voriconazole (VOR). Methods: Microbiological and CSF markers (1,3-b-D-glucan-BDG) of fungal infection, biofilm production capacity, sensitivity of serial isolates of the pathogen, and the concentration of the antifungal drug have been monitored and related to the clinical course of this infection. Results: Despite appropriate treatment with VOR, in terms of adequate achieved CSF drug concentrations and initial effective therapeutic response, loss of VOR susceptibility of the C tropicalis and treatment failure were observed. Conclusion: Biofilm production of the C. tropicalis isolate might have had a significant role in treatment failure. Of interest, clinical and microbiological unfavorable outcome was anticipated by persistence of BDG in CSF. Rising titers of this marker were associated with relapse of fungal infection