Italian Corporate Governance, Investment, and Finance

Italian industrial structure and financial markets have several distinct features. Italian firms are relatively small, few trade publicly and no corporate bond market exists. The limited types of external funds available to Italian firms makes them prone to financing constraints. We examine a panel containing over 1100 Italian firms. We find that firm size does not appear correlated with the severity of financing constraints. We also find that small firms are frequently mature. Our results suggest that young firms face financing constraints, while mature firms may develop relationships with lenders that lower the costs of external funds. Small, young firms appear to face the tightest financing constraints. Many firms are affiliated with pyramidal business groups. We find that affiliation with pyramidal business groups appears to reduce the effect of financing constraints. Our results have important implications for government policy to promote small firm growth in Italy.

Setting network tariffs with heterogeneous firms: The case of natural gas distribution

The appropriate treatment of firm heterogeneity plays a crucial role in the application of benchmarking analyses for regulatory purposes. Within the realm of two-step approaches, this paper challenges the widespread adoption of single-variable clustering: heterogeneity has often multiple sources, which calls for more sophisticated clustering methodologies. In fact, reliable cluster-specific rankings provide firms’ management with more realistic objectives as well as freedom to identify the appropriate strategies to improve efficiency. In order to provide regulatory guidance on this issue, we use a unique dataset of detailed accounting data and unbundled network-related costs for a panel of Italian gas distributors and we test two alternative methods: a hybrid clustering procedure (HCP) and a latent class model (LCM). Our results show that HCP and LCM perform better than size segmentation in the identification of classes, thereby leading to more reliable production frontiers, but do not support a conclusive preference for one or the other method. While both methods are sensitive to outliers, LCMs seem to provide deeper insights on the drivers of firm inefficiency. However, they also present stationarity and convergence issues, which might favour the implementation of HCP methods. Furthermore, the degree of discretionary judgement in the modelling decisions (e.g., model specification and choice of the partition) is slightly higher with LCMs than with HCP. In this respect, the HCP, with its lower modelling and analytical complexity, may feature as a more appealing option, facilitating the interactions between regulator and firm managers

Going public to grow? Evidence from a panel of Italian firms

WP 10/2004; This paper investigates the consequences of the going public decision for the growth of Italian firms using US firms as a benchmark for comparison. We find Italian firms conducting IPOs are larger than US firms, but raise fewer funds from the IPO and grow more slowly afterwards. We also compare Italian IPOs across time. Firms going public in the 1990s display features that are more similar to US IPOs. We describe changes to the Italian economy and financial markets potentially responsible for the change. We also compare firms of different size and with different governance structure, and we find that they behave differently after going public. Our results suggest that public policies that simply increase access to equity markets may not be effective unless they provide incentives for the firms’ decision-makers to use the new capital to grow

PO-0803: Validation of a pre-treatment delivery quality assurance method for the CyberKnife Synchrony System

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Value of staging squamous cell carcinoma of the anal margin and canal using the sentinel lymph node procedure: an update of the series and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Inguinal metastases in patients affected by anal cancer are an independent prognostic factor for local failure and overall mortality. Since 2001, sentinel lymph node biopsy was applied in these patients. This original study reports an update of personal and previous published series, which were compared with Literature to value the incidence of inguinal metastases T-stage related and the overall incidence of false negative inguinal metastases at sentinel node. METHODS: In all, 63 patients diagnosed with anal cancer submitted to inguinal sentinel node. Furthermore a research in the Pub Med database was performed to find papers regarding this technique. RESULTS: In our series, detection rate was 98.4%. Inguinal metastases were evidentiated in 13 patients (20.6%). Our median follow-up was 35 months. In our series, no false negative nodes were observed. CONCLUSION: Sentinel node technique in the detection of inguinal metastases in patients affected by anal cancer should be considered as a standard of care. It is indicated for all T stages in order to select patients to be submitted to inguinal radiotherapy, avoiding related morbidity in negative ones. An overall 3.7% rate of false negative must be considered acceptable

Strategic responses to global challenges: The case of European banking, 1973–2000

In applying a strategy, structure, ownership and performance (SSOP) framework to three major clearing banks (ABN AMRO, UBS, Barclays), this article debates whether the conclusions generated by Whittington and Mayer about European manufacturing industry can be applied to the financial services sector. While European integration plays a key role in determining strategy, it is clear that global factors were far more important in determining management actions, leading to significant differences in structural adaptation. The article also debates whether this has led to improved performance, given the problems experienced with both geographical dispersion and diversification, bringing into question the quality of decision-making over the long term

The stability for the Cauchy problem for elliptic equations

We discuss the ill-posed Cauchy problem for elliptic equations, which is pervasive in inverse boundary value problems modeled by elliptic equations. We provide essentially optimal stability results, in wide generality and under substantially minimal assumptions. As a general scheme in our arguments, we show that all such stability results can be derived by the use of a single building brick, the three-spheres inequality.Comment: 57 pages, review articl

Reirradiation for isolated local recurrence of prostate cancer: Mono-institutional series of 64 patients treated with salvage stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)

objective: To evaluate high-precision external beam reirradiation (re-EBRT) for local relapse of prostate cancer (PCa) after radiotherapy. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with biochemical failure and evidence of isolated local recurrence of PCa after radical/salvage EBRT or brachytherapy that received salvage stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT, re-EBRT). Biopsy was not mandatory if all diagnostic elements were univocal (prostate specific antigen evolution, choline-positron emission tomography or magnetic resonance imaging). Salvage SBRT (re-EBRT) was delivered with image-guided radiation therapy (RapidArc\uae, VERO\uae and CyberKnife\uae). results: Data of 64 patients were included, median age at salvage SBRT was 73.2 years, median pre-salvage SBRT prostate specific antigen was 3.89 ng ml 121 . Median total dose was 30 Gy in five fractions, biologically effective dose (BED) of 150 Gy. One acute G3 genitourinary event and one late G3 genitourinary event were observed. No G 65 3 bowel toxicity was registered. At the median follow-up of 26.1 months, tumor progression was observed in 41 patients (64%). 18 patients (28%) experienced local relapse. 2-year local control, biochemical and clinical relapse free survival rates were 75, 40 and 53%, respectively. With BED 65130 Gy 1-year biochemical and clinical progression-free survival rate were 85 and 90%, respectively. conclusions: Salvage SBRT (re-EBRT) for isolated local PCa recurrence is a safe, feasible and noninvasive salvage treatment. Further investigation is warranted to define the optimal patient selection, dose and volume parameters. advances in knowledge: Salvage SBRT reirradiation for the locally recurrent PCa offer a satisfactory tumor control and excellent toxicity profile, if BED 65130 Gy is administered

Physics of Solar Prominences: II - Magnetic Structure and Dynamics

Observations and models of solar prominences are reviewed. We focus on non-eruptive prominences, and describe recent progress in four areas of prominence research: (1) magnetic structure deduced from observations and models, (2) the dynamics of prominence plasmas (formation and flows), (3) Magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) waves in prominences and (4) the formation and large-scale patterns of the filament channels in which prominences are located. Finally, several outstanding issues in prominence research are discussed, along with observations and models required to resolve them.Comment: 75 pages, 31 pictures, review pape