Firm Size Distribution and Returns to Scale. Non-Parametric Frontier Estimates from Italian Manufacturing

This paper explores the relationship between firm size distribution and technology. We analyse firm technology across selected manufacturing industries by means of a non-parametric production analysis, the Free Disposal Hull approach (Deprins et al., 1984; Kerstens and Vanden Eeckaut, 1999) and appraise the links between size and scale elasticity, finding a clear inverse relationship. Building on this result, we inquire whether the shape of the firm size distribution is related to a particular pattern of scale elasticities. We rely on the Zipf Plot (Stanley et al., 1995) of the Pareto IV distribution, which is concave up to a given threshold, and then approximately linear. Firms in the concave part of the plot are overwhelmingly found to experience increasing returns to scale. On the contrary, firms in the linear part are mainly characterised by constant returns to scale.

Quantifying criticality, information dynamics and thermodynamics of collective motion

Active matter consists of self-propelled particles whose interactions give rise to coherent collective motion. Well-known examples include schools of fish, flocks of birds, swarms of insects and herds of ungulates. On the micro-scale, cells, enzymes and bacteria also move collectively as active matter, inspiring engineering of artificial materials and devices. These diverse systems exhibit similar collective behaviours, including gathering, alignment and quick propagation of perturbations, which emerge from relatively simple local interactions. This phenomenon is known as self-organisation and is observed in active matter as well as in many other complex collective phenomena, including urban agglomeration, financial crises, ecosystems dynamics and technological cascading failures. Some open challenges in the study of self-organisation include (a) how the information processing across the collective and over time gives rise to emergent behaviour, (b) how to identify the regimes in which different collective behaviours exist and their phase transitions, and (c) how to quantify the thermodynamics associated with these phenomena. This thesis aims to investigate these topics in the context of active matter, while building a rigorous theoretical framework. Specifically, this thesis provides three main contributions. Firstly, the question of how to formally measure information transfer across the collective is addressed and applied to a real system, i.e., a school of fish. Secondly, general relations between statistical mechanical and thermodynamical quantities are analytically derived and applied to a model of active matter, resulting in the formulation of the concept of “thermodynamic efficiency of computation during collective motion”. This concept is then extended to the domain of urban dynamics. Thirdly, this thesis provides a rigorous quantification of the non-equilibrium entropy production associated with the collective motion of active Brownian particles

Technology and Firm Size Distribution:Evidence from Italian Manufacturing

This paper explores the relationship between firm size distribution and technology. Similarly to Crosato and Ganugi (2006), we focus on six industries from the Micro1 survey by the Italian Statistical National Office (ISTAT). Firm technology is analysed across selected industries by means of a non-parametric production analysis, the Free Disposal Hull approach (Deprins et al., 1984; Kerstens and Vanden Eeckaut, 1999). The existence of a link between technical efficiency and size on the one hand, and between scale elasticity and size on the other is investigated. Graphical analyses show the absence of a clear-cut relation in the first case, while an inverse relation is found in the second one. Building on this relation, we inquire whether the shape of the firm size-distribution is related to a particular pattern of returns to scale. This problem is studied through the Zipf Plot (Stanley et al., 1995) of the Pareto IV distribution, which is concave for firms up to a given threshold, and then becomes linear. Results show that firms in the concave part of the plot experience increasing returns to scale. On the contrary, firms in the linear part are mainly characterised by constant returns to scale.Italian manufacturing; Free Disposal Hull; Pareto distributions; Returns to scale;

Control de facto de territorio en el derecho internacional: estudio de los derechos y obligaciones de los Estados en territorios en disputa

Abierto en el repositorio institucional de la Graduate Institute Geneva: https://repository.graduateinstitute.ch/record/294399El trabajo se basa en dos postulados: (1) Hay una necesidad práctica de reconocer la realidad de los hechos y de entablar relaciones con los Estados que ejercen un control efectivo (de facto) sobre un territorio en disputa, independientemente de si tienen derecho de soberanía sobre los mismos o no de conformidad con el derecho internacional; (2) se deben identificar las reglas del derecho internacional existentes que podrían permitir que tales Estados asuman derechos y obligaciones con relación a dichos territorios vis-à-vis terceros Estados. El trabajo concluye que existe una regla en el derecho internacional, de naturaleza permisiva, que permite que la realidad de los hechos sea reconocida. El Estado que controla un territorio de facto puede asumir derechos y obligaciones con relación al mismo, y terceros Estados que entran en relación con este último no violan, en principio, el derecho internacional. Cualquier derecho u obligación asumido es provisional mientras la disputa de soberanía territorial esté pendiente. La regla puede estar sujeta a ciertas limitaciones que se vuelven menos exigentes con el pasar del tiempo.This dissertation analyzes what are the rights and obligations of States with respect to disputed territories. It lies on two main postulates: first, there is a practical need to recognize the reality on the ground and deal with the State in actual and effective control of a disputed territory, regardless of whether it is the rightful sovereign. Second, facts alone do not determine the law, and one must identify the relevant rule or rules that allow dealing with that State. We conclude that there is a rule of general international law, permissive in nature, by virtue of which the factual situation may be recognized. The State controlling a disputed territory can assume rights and obligations on behalf of it, and third States that enter into relations with the latter do not, in principle, violate international law. Any right or obligation assumed is provisional, pending the settlement of the dispute. Furthermore, the rule may be subject to certain limitations, which become less stringent with the passage of time

Predicting SME's default: some old facts and a new idea

[EN] The Small Business Act of the European Commission in 2008 acknowledge s the key role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the EU economy. Th is is particularly relevant for Italy, which has the largest share of SMEs in Europe, as well as for other countries such as Portugal, Spain and Greece. On the other hand, SMEs experience more difficulties in their early stages mainly due to high market competition and credit constraints, as highlighted by Fritsch and Weyh (2006). For these reasons, the study of SMEs default risk is always relevant. There are several papers studying firm default factors in a single country (see Ciampi, 2015, Fantazzini and Figini, 2009, Flix and dos Santos, 2018). The literature concentrates mainly on financial indicators built on businesses’ balance sheets, which are available about two years late wi th respect to their reference period. This diminishes the significance of the results, both for credit risk and policy aims, and particularly in a forecasting perspective. The purpose of this paper is to provide a preliminary study on a sample of spanish firms selected from the SABI, Sistema de Análisis de Balances Ibéricos, which is listed among Bureau van Dijk databases. The analysis will be carried out according to both parametric and non-parametric discrimination techniques, with the standard construction of a training set on which to build a model and a validation set to test the validity and robustness of the results, and, in the end, the reliability of the model in predicting default. Finally we present a new proposal: a scheme to understand to what ext ent firms’ default can be predicted by substituting the traditional data sour ces (offline information) with data collected from their corporate websites (onli ne information) in order to exploit more up-to-date information.Crosato, L.; Domenech, J.; Liberati, C. (2020). Predicting SME's default: some old facts and a new idea. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/149606OC

Non-conventional data and default prediction: the challenge of companies’ websites

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribution to the European Union economy has always been relevant, for both value added and the creation of jobs. That is why the prediction of their survival is considered one of the economic pillars UE keeps under observation. Default prediction models, accounting for SMEs idiosyncratic traits, are based on several types of data, mainly accounting indicators. Balance sheet data, indeed, are considered the standard predictors for classification models in this field, although they do not allow to completely overcome the information opacity that is one of the main barriers preventing these firms from accessing credit. In our work, we explore the possibility of complementing accounting information with data scraped from the firms’ websites. We modeled the data using a nonlinear discriminant analysis and we benchmarked the results with the Logistic Regression. The evidence of our study is promising although the combination of online and offline data shows better results in case of survival firms than for defaulted companies

Flood risk analysis for the river Scheldt estuary

This report gives an overview of the history of flood risk management along the Scheldt estuary. Thepurpose of this overview is twofold. It documents the results obtained in the first activity of the Task25 Pilot, being focused on flood risk analysis, both in historical perspective and with regard to currentpolicies. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the Scheldt estuary for other partners in theFLOODsite project which will use the Scheldt Pilot for their own tasks and activities.The Scheldt estuary is a clear example where integrated water management is required. Integratedmeans in this case: meeting the objectives for 3 major basic functions and values of the estuary: safety,accessibility (navigation) and ecology. Recently finalised and ongoing projects, such as Proses and theSIGMA plan show a highly multidisciplinary approach in order to fulfil these objectives.From the perspective of flood risk management we see a significant difference in approach betweenBelgium and the Netherlands. The Belgian New Sigma Plan has used an approach that is strikinglysimilar to the FLOODsite methodology, i.e. going through the three phases Risk Analysis, RiskAssessment and Flood Management Strategy formulation. In contrast, the Dutch flood riskmanagement was developed over a long historical period, with the Delta Plan as the final apotheosis.In the time the Delta Plan was formulated, there was hardly any attention and technology available todetermine flood probability and flood damage

Large-Scale Morphodynamic Impact of Groups of Piers on Low-Land Rivers

This study explores the morphodynamic impact of groups of piers with different configurations (i.e., span characteristics, number of piers, and different reach locations) in a river cross section. It focuses on sandy low-land rivers presenting steady alternate bars and low Froude numbers. A 2DH (vertically integrated) numerical physics-based model (Delft3D) is used to simulate a straight channel, which is inspired from a Nile River reach in Egypt, downstream of the High Aswan Dam. The results show the formation of a forced bar upstream and downstream of the piers and increased deposition over the existing steady bars with different intensities. The nearest bars to the structures are the most affected ones. Large spans between bridge piers and more uniform pier distribution are found to decrease the deposition and its extension, hence reducing dredging investments for navigability