Bargaining Coalitions in the Agricultural Negotiations of the Doha Round: Similarity of Interests or Strategic Choices? An Empirical Assessment

The paper aims at understanding the structural features of the bargaining coalitions in the Doha Round of the WTO. We provide an empirical assessment of the preferences of each negotiating actor looking at general economics indicators, development levels, structure of the agricultural sectors, and trade policies for agricultural products. Bargaining coalitions are analyzed by grouping countries through a cluster analysis procedure. The clusters are compared with existing coalitions, in order to assess their degree of internal homogeneity as well as their common interests. Such a comparison allows the detection of possible “defectors”, i.e. countries that according to their economic conditions and policies seem to be relatively less committed to the positions of the coalition they join.Agricultural trade negotiations, Bargaining coalitions, WTO, Cluster analysis

Agricultural Expenditure in the Future European Union Budget

Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance,

In tandem for cohesion?: synergies and conflicts between regional and agricultural policies of the European Union

Crescenzi, R., De Filippis, F. and Pierangeli, F. In tandem for cohesion? Synergies and conflicts between regional and agricultural policies of the European Union, Regional Studies. The paper analyses the financial allocations from the regional, rural development and agricultural policies of the European Union in order to assess their territorial coordination and synergies with the objective of territorial cohesion. Regression analysis is used to uncover the link between funds and territorial disadvantage for the 1994–2013 period. The analysis reveals that both coordination and compatibility with territorial cohesion have not always improved in response to major policy reforms. The territorial ‘vocation’ of overall community spending is weakly linked to its distribution among different policies, but it crucially depends upon appropriate ‘place-based’ allocation mechanisms

Synergies and conflicts between EU policies and the objective of territorial cohesion

The paper looks at the overall structure of the European Union’s regional, agricultural and rural development policies in order to assess their coordination and synergies at the territorial level and their degree of compatibility with the objective of territorial cohesion. The regression analysis - covering the 20-year period 1994-2013, and approximately 90% of total Community expenditure - reveals that the compatibility of the various areas of Community policy in terms of the objectives of territorial cohesion has not progressed in a linear fashion over time. Shifting resources in the Community budget from one policy area to another does not, by itself, appear capable of guaranteeing virtuous paths in terms of territorial cohesion. The increase in the territorial ‘vocation’ of overall Community spending will, therefore, crucially depend upon the definition of appropriate allocative mechanisms and interventions, based upon the characteristics of each region and its ‘local’ needsRegional Policy, Regional Development, Rural Development, European Union

How the EU’s Geographical Indications scheme helps foster economic development in rural areas

Products associated with specific locations in Europe, such as Roquefort and Parma ham, are protected under the EU’s ‘Geographical Indications’ scheme. This ensures these products can only be legally sold if they are produced in specified areas. As Riccardo Crescenzi, Fabrizio De Filippis, Mara Giua and Cristina Vaquero-Piñeiro write, Geographical Indications play a vital role for local development in rural areas with limited public expenditure. They provide protection against reproduction elsewhere, facilitate an upward effect on pricing and quality reputation, and improve demographic trends and sectoral re-composition

Geographical Indications and local development: the strength of territorial embeddedness

Can Geographical Indications (GIs) promote local economic development in rural areas? This paper explores the impact of GIs that identify and endorse agri-food products which are strictly embedded within the territory from which they originate. Examining Italian wine protected by GIs through an innovative dataset and by means of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences models make it possible to compare the local economic development trajectories of rural municipalities afforded GIs with the correspondent dynamics of a counterfactual group of similar municipalities without GI status since 1951. Rural municipalities with GIs experience population growth and economic reorganization towards non-farming sectors, which frequently involve higher value-added activities

Le politiche di sviluppo rurale nell´unione europea: un secondo pilastro tutto da inventare

This paper provides an analysis of the evolution of EU common rural development policy together with an assessment of the state of the art in the implementation of such policy in Italy during 2000-2006 programming period. Within this framework financing agriculture and farmers is still at the centre of the intervention, but the more general support to the rural areas is of increasing importance. The last objective is pursued through the implementation of traditional measures as well as of “bottom up” programmes (that is the Leader initiative). This paper gives an overview on the main measures aimed at these objectives, focusing both on the underlying EC regulation and on the main specificities and problems linked to their implementation. A further objective of the paper is drawing lessons and policy recommendations for future experiences, which need for a coordinated approach at European, national and regional level. In this framework, the definition of new institutional arrangements really capable of delivering rural policies where they are needed is crucial. Participative approaches like Leader can help the design and the delivery of strategies fitting specific territorial needs.Governance, Agricultural policy, Rural areas

Risk Factors for Lung Cancer in the Province of Lecce: Results from the PROTOS Case–Control Study in Salento (Southern Italy)

In the province of Lecce (southern Italy), a higher incidence of lung cancer (LC) among men compared to regional and national data was reported. In a sub-area in the center of the province (cluster area), the incidence and mortality for LC was even higher. PROTOS is a case-control study aimed at investigating possible risk factors for LC in the province area. A total of 442 patients with LC and 1326 controls matched by sex and age living in the province of Lecce for at least 10 years were enrolled and georeferenced; they filled in a questionnaire with their personal information and exposures. For each risk factor, an Odds Ratio adjusted for all the other variables was calculated. The risk of LC increased with excessive use of alcohol in women, for those subjects with a family cancer history, for each increase in pack/year of cigarettes, for men more exposed considering the industrial district in the cluster area, and for those using pesticides in agriculture without wearing personal protective equipment. The higher incidence of adenocarcinoma in both sexes suggests that, in addition to cigarette smoking, concurrent exposures to other environmental, occupational, and life-style factors may play a role in increased cancer risk and should be more deeply explored

Use of benzylglycinamide by a HIV-seropositive polysubstance user: : the changing pattern of novel psychoactive substance use among youths

This document is the Accepted Manuscript of the following article: Matteo Caloro, et al, ‘Use of benzylglycinamide by a HIV-seropositive polysubstance user: The changing pattern of novel psychoactive substance use among youths’, Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 60, pp. 53-57, September 2016. The Version of Record is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.032. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.A 24-year old woman with multisubstance use since the age of 13, including opioids and cocaine, and long-standing HIV/HCV seropositivity status, presented with psychosis, agitation, and insomnia at the emergency department of a university hospital. She had been abusive and physically aggressive frequently without specific reasons and was involved in criminal legal cases. She was hospitalized twice. During her first hospital stay she experienced a brief episode of detachment from her environment, similar to episodes reportedly suffered at home. Psychosis had developed following heavy polysubstance abuse. Her mother provided sachets containing benzylglycinamide, a substance with no known psychotropic effects, which were also present in the patient's urine. She was occasionally positive for cannabinoids. She used to buy various novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) from the internet and used experimentally various substances freely made available to her by drug suppliers/dealers. She was unable to explain clearly why she was taking any of the identified NPS. She stated she was taking benzylglycinamide to calm her when smoking synthetic cannabinoids. While it appears that benzylglycinamide is not likely to constitute a novel drug of abuse, her polysubstance use exemplifies trends in NPS use patterns among the youths in the Western world and should alert mental health workers as to the possible dangers of such behavior and its reflection on social behavior and psychopathology.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio