Counteracting cocaine production. An analysis based on a novel dataset

he debate about the effectiveness of the counteracting policies against the supply of drugs, in particular of cocaine, is very lively and intense. Indeed, since many opinions are based on certain measures rather than others, the construction of reliable indicators is one of the preconditions for a correct and concerted assessment of drug supply. The lack of reliable data on drug provision derives, on the one side, from the objective difficulties encountered in assessing the quantitative elements of drug production and drug trafficking due to its illegal nature, and, on the other side, from the lack of a standard methodological approach to the issue. This paper tries to contribute to the topic by proposing a new dataset, based on a completely new approach to the problem of measuring drug supply. We put forward a unique dataset covering cocaine related seizures in Colombia for the whole of year 2008. Data have been collected on a daily basis from the websites of the main organizations fighting against drug traffickers (Army, Air Force, National Police, Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, Armada Nacional, Fiscalia), detailing each single seizure of laboratories for the production of both basic paste and cocaine hydrochloride. By means of this dataset, we offer some accounts of the main numbers on drug supply and on drug seizures, suggesting some policy options, and arriving to an estimate of cocaine production.

Academic spin-offs: counting beans or extracting value?

We argue that current approaches do not take into full account the process through which Universities create new spin-offs. Instead, we claim that the overall process through which these arrangements impact on spin-offs\u2019 performance can vary considerably and that this process should be interpreted in terms of University-level managerial practices in place for the creation and development of University spinoffs. Managerial practices are likely to play an important role in explaining the systematic difference in performance across spinoffs spun from different Universities. We rely on a longitudinal dataset comprising more than 800 Italian University spin-offs observed over the period 2000-2011 and additional data collection via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to 68 Italian University TTOs. The scope is to juxtapose the above issues and to begin to uncover the black box of \u201cmanagerial practices \u2013 spinoff creation/performance\u201d in terms of antecedents and impact of a range of managerial activities not adequately covered by the extant literature. The results of this paper should therefore contribute to fill an important gap in the existing literature on university-industry knowledge transfer and academic entrepreneurship. Implications would inform policy makers and university managers about how to direct investments

‘Better late than never’: the interplay between green technology and age for firm growth

This paper investigates the relationship between green/non-green technologies and firm growth. By combining the literature on eco-innovations, industrial organisation and entrepreneurial studies, we examine the dependence of this relationship on the pace at which firms grow and the age of the firm. From a dataset of 5498 manufacturing firms in Italy for the period of 2000–2008, longitudinal fixed effects quantile models are estimated, in which the firm’s age is set to moderate the effects of green and non-green patents on employment growth. We find that the positive effect of green technologies on growth is greater than that of non-green technologies. However, this result does not apply to struggling and rapidly growing firms. With fast-growing (above the median) firms, age moderates the growth effect of green technologies. Inconsistent with the extant literature, this moderation effect is positive: firm experience appears important for the growth benefits of green technologies, possibly relative to the complexity of their management

Academics’ Motivations and Depth and Breadth of Knowledge Transfer Activities

The debate on the entrepreneurial university has raised questions about what motivates academics to engage with industry as well as what forms these knowledge transfer activities can take. This paper analyses the relationship between different forms of motivations, namely mission (following the entrepreneurial mission of the university), learning (access to wider knowledge base for research enhancement) and funding (obtaining financial resources), and the depth and breadth of knowledge transfer activities, measured by the combination of various formal and informal activities and the frequency of interactions. The study is focused on the case of Italian academics but it covers all disciplines. We find that the learning motivation appears to be less important in Italy while mission and funding prevail, probably due to the peculiarities of the Italian industrial system and to the necessity for Italian academics to look for external funding sources for their research