The domestic stability pact in Italy: a rule for discipline?

The 1999-2006 versions of the Italian Domestic Stability Pact had many shortcomings and a modest impact with respect to the aim of aligning the fiscal behaviour of sub-national government units with the national commitments under the European Stability and Growth Pact. The Domestic Pact was revised in 2007 and 2008 to tighten the monitoring and sanctions framework and prevent some inefficient behaviour. However, some undesirable features still mar the new regime: no coordination exists between the Domestic Pact and the debt and tax constraints applied to local governments; a clear definition of the contribution of sub-national governments to aggregate compliance with the external rule is still lacking; flexibility has been introduced by means of an artificial reference budget balance; side effects on resource redistribution are ignored; and monitoring and sanctioning remain weak. Remedies for the above shortcomings can possibly be found in the domestic pacts of the other EMU countries. Most of all, the Domestic Pact should be adjusted to the specific characteristics of fiscal decentralization in Italy, where a large fiscal gap exists, revenue autonomy is constrained and a large share of the responsibility for spending is rigid and politically sensitive.Domestic Stability Pact, fiscal federalism

Economic integration and government size: a review of the empirical literature

This paper reviews the empirical literature concerning the impact of economic integration on the size and the composition of the public budget. From a theoretical perspective, a pessimistic view highlights the threat that economic integration constitutes to the action of the public sector. An optimistic view, instead, emphasizes the beneficial effects of integration in stimulating efficiency – enhancing public policies. Despite some well-established theoretical results, the empirical evidence on this topic is rather controversial. Some studies support the hypothesis that taxes and public spending may increase in order to compensate losers for the risks of a more open economic environment. Other studies support the opposite idea, that the public sector retrenches when having to face increasing mobility of the production factors. Yet, comparability of the wide empirical evidence on the topic is not straightforward and empirical regularities are hard to find.tax revenue, public spending, government size, trade openness, capital openness, economic integration, globalisation

Budgeting versus implementing fiscal policy:the Italian case

The budgeting process has been recently reformed in Italy (L. 196/2009) in order to improve control of budget and transparency in the provision of clear information on government fiscal policy. Indeed, the general government final expenditures often deviate significantly from the initial forecasted amounts. Therefore, although the initial budget is often formulated in contractionary stance compared with the previous year’s final account, the final outcome turns out to be expansionary. As a consequence, confidence in the reliability of expenditure estimates in the initial budget and in the value of the initial budget as an indicator of the stance of fiscal policy have been undermined. Using real-time data for Italy, reported in the Relazione Previsionale e Programmatica (RPP) and in the Relazione Unificata sull’Economia e la Finanza Pubblica (RUEF), we explore fiscal plans and their implementation for GDP and general government aggregated and disaggregated items of revenue, expenditure and budget balance over the period 1998-2009. Both reports are employed with the aim of measuring the budgetary policy implementation error, following the methodology of Beetsma et al. (2009). We focus on the first year of the fiscal plans because budgetary slippages mainly occur in this year (Balassone et al. 2010). The main findings suggest that implemented budgetary adjustment falls systematically short of planned adjustment for GDP, for primary balance and overall balance. Actually, the main determinants of the implementation error of both primary and overall balance are the expenditures, in particular, the capital expenditures. Moreover, it seems that errors in macroeconomic forecasts cannot be considered the driving force of the budgetary slippages. Our results are in line with the strand of literature (von Hagen 1992; von Hagen and Harden 1994; Alesina and Perotti 1999; Tanaka 2003) according to which credible plans are the conditio sine qua non for healthy budget outcomes and resorting fiscal transparency and accountability. To improve public budgeting in Italy, we deem necessary a renewed commitment by policy makers in term of planning and control of public expenditures.fiscal plans; real-time data; implementation; budget process; expenditure and revenue; Italy

The digital services tax. EU harmonisation and unilateral measures

Italy’s recent decision to unilaterally introduce a digital services tax consistent with the taxation scheme proposed by the European Commission raises a number of interesting matters. These matters are related to the peculiar nature of this levy, which taxes total revenues collected from multinationals but apportions the corresponding tax yield among single member states according to the domestic share of digital users. The central purpose of this work is to analyse what possible configuration the EU digital services taxation system could take in the wake of the unilateral measure taken by Italy and of the reactions by other EU countries. In particular, this work points out that a critical element for the possible tax strategies to be adopted by national tax authorities is the joint consideration of two geographical allocations: digital service sales and digital users. The rest of the work is organised as follows. Section 2 discusses issues in taxing the digital economy and illustrates the more recent policy initiatives proposed, or implemented, at international and national level, to cope with these problems. In particular, the proposal of a digital services tax (DST) put forward by the European Commission is described together with the specific DST that will unilaterally be applied by Italy, starting from 2019. Section 3 presents a simplified general framework, useful for highlighting the main elements of the DST scheme and of the possible strategies that could be adopted by single countries to tax the digital economy. In Section 4 we try to empirically apply the predictions derived from the general framework, by using data about online advertising markets in different European countries. Section 5 concludes

Sharing the Personal Income Tax among levels of government: some open issue

This paper considers some open issues concerning the role of the personal income tax in regional and local finance. It compares different technical instruments to share the personal income tax among levels of government, analyzing particularly the differential effects of the two main forms of overlapping taxation, the surtax and the surcharge. It is proved that both instruments increase the redistributional impact of personal income taxation, the surcharge to a larger extent than the surtax. The second part of the paper describes the present framework of the sharing of income tax in Italy, based upon regional and local surtaxes, and the new perspectives opened by the reform of intergovernmental fiscal relations recently approved by Parliament

The role of playing in the socio-cognitive development of children from 3 to 5 years of age: an observational study

INTRODUCCIÓN: Jugar es esencial para el desarrollo de funciones psicológicas superiores; de hecho, los juegos pueden servir para mostrar, desarrollar y mejorar la exploración del medio ambiente, la representación y manipulación de objetos, así como fomentar las primeras interacciones sociales. El propósito de este estudio es mostrar que jugar constituye un paso esencial en el desarrollo socio-cognitivo del niño describiendo el tiempo de juego como indicador de la superación gradual, paso a paso, del pensamiento centrado en sí mismo, con el fin de adquirir nuevas estrategias de adaptación social. MÉTODO: La actividad de investigación incluyó a 64 niños, de escuelas infantiles en la ciudad de Turín (edad media: 4.3). Herramientas: El trabajo de investigación se basó en la observación directa y de las grabaciones de vídeo de juego espontáneo entre niños en la escuela. Se aplicaron dos sistemas de codificación (Escala de Observación de Juego, integrada por un patrón de codificación ideado por los autores). Estos dos métodos hicieron posible analizar las variaciones en cuanto a las actividades de la ideación, la exploración, la socialización y la imitación. RESULTADO DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES: Los resultados preliminares parecen confirmar que jugar proporciona un marco dentro del cual es posible articular y expresar los progresos de un niño, en términos de desarrollo social y de habilidades cognitivas. El nivel de madurez individual afecta, por un lado, a las características de la interacción social y a los patrones de pensamiento por el otro. El ajuste mutuo del desarrollo de estos dos procesos se muestra también en el cambio gradual de la forma en que se negocian los conflictos: la superación del pensamiento egocéntrico, por lo tanto, también se expresa en un gradual cambio de perspectiva en relación con el niño.INTRODUCTION: Playing is essential for the development of higher psychological functions; indeed games may serve to show, develop and improve the exploration of the environment, the manipulation and representation of objects, as well as fostering the first social interactions. The purpose of this study is to show that playing constitutes an essential step in the socio-cognitive development of children by describing playtime as the indicator of the gradual, step-by-step overcoming of self-centred thinking, with a view to acquiring new social adjustment strategies. METHOD: Participants The research activity included 64 children, from nursery schools in the city of Turin (average age: 4.3). Tools: The research work was based on the direct and video-recorded observation of spontaneous playing among children at school. Two coding systems were applied (Play Observation Scale, integrated by a coding pattern devised by the authors). These two methods made it possible to analyse the variations as regards ideation, exploration, socialising and imitation activities. RESULT DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary results seem to confirm that playing provides a framework within which it is possible to articulate and express the progress made by a child, in terms of both social development and cognitive skills. The individual maturity level affects, on the one side, the social-interaction features and the thought patterns on the other. The mutual adjustment of the development of these two processes is also shown in the stepwise changing of the way in which conflicts are negotiated: the overcoming of self-centred thinking, therefore, is also expressed by a gradual change in perspective as regards the individual child.peerReviewe

Attention deficit and hyperactivity in the classroom: assessing children’s perception through their drawings

Para los niños en general, y en particular para los alumnos que tienen dificultades para gestionar su nivel de atención y comportamiento, el aula puede llegar a ser un medio "inadecuado" (Cos et al., 2006). Este estudio incluyó a 124 estudiantes del primer, segundo y tercer año en algunas escuelas primarias en Piamonte. Los participantes fueron divididos en dos grupos: un grupo experimental (EG), que consta de sesenta niños que, de acuerdo con los profesores prevalentes, mostraron déficits de atención y comportamiento hiperactivo, y un grupo control (GC). Con el fin de evaluar el comportamiento y la calidad de las relaciones que caracterizan la vida en el aula de los dos grupos involucrados, se utilizaron diversos instrumentos (STRS, SDQ, Jugar con Clase, Test Atribución). Este documento se basa específicamente en los resultados de la administración de la prueba gráfica "Clase de dibujo" (Quaglia y Saglione, 1990). Este método, aunque en línea con otras herramientas utilizadas para confirmar los datos de la bibliografía pertinente, además de destacar la calidad de la relación profesor-alumno, considera las dificultades del niño que sufre de este "desorden" en referencia a distintas áreas del comportamiento, en particular, a la de la socialización y la afectividad.For children in general, and in particular for pupils who find it difficult to manage their attention level and behaviour, the classroom may prove to be an “unsuited” environment (Kos et al., 2006). This study involved 124 students from the first, second and third year in some primary schools in Piedmont. The participants were divided into two groups: one experimental group (EG), consisting of sixty children who, according to prevalent teachers, showed attention deficits and hyperactive behaviour, and one control group (CG). In order to assess the behaviour and quality of relationships characterising the life in the classroom of the two groups involved, various instruments were used (STRS, SDQ, Class Play, Attribution Test). This paper is based specifically on results from the administration of the graphic test “Class Drawing” (Quaglia & Saglione, 1990). This method, although in line with other tools used for confirming data from the relevant literature, apart from highlighting the quality of the teacherpupil relationship, considers the difficulties of the child suffering from such a “disorder” with reference and affectivity.Per il bambino che presenta difficoltà a prestare attenzione e a controllare il proprio comportamento, l’aula si rivela spesso un ambiente “disadatto” (Kos et al., 2006). Il presente studio coinvolge 124 studenti frequentanti il primo, il secondo e il terzo grado di alcune scuole primarie piemontesi. I soggetti sono suddivisi in due gruppi: un gruppo sperimentale (GS), composto da 60 bambini che, secondo gli insegnanti prevalenti, presentano difficoltà di attenzione e comportamenti iperattivi, e un gruppo di controllo (GC). Al fine di rilevare il comportamento e la qualità delle relazioni caratterizzanti la vita in classe dei due gruppi partecipanti, sono stati utilizzati differenti test (STRS, SDQ, Class Play, Prova di attribuzione). In questo articolo si riportano, nello specifico, i risultati emersi attraverso la somministrazione del test grafico “Il disegno della classe” (Quaglia, Saglione, 1990). Tale strumento, in linea con gli altri test nel confermare i dati della relativa letteratura, oltre a evidenziare la qualità del rapporto insegnante-allievo, considera le difficoltà del bambino con tale “disturbo” con riferimento a specifiche aree del comportamento: in particolare l’area della socializzazione e dell’affettività.peerReviewe

Immersed boundary method: performance analysis of popular finite element spaces

The aim of this paper is to understand the performances of different finite elements in the space discretization of the Finite Element Immersed Boundary Method. In this exploration we will analyze two popular solution spaces: Hood-Taylor and Bercovier- Pironneau (P1-iso-P2). Immersed boundary solution is characterized by pressure discontinuities at fluid structure interface. Due to such a discontinuity a natural enrichment choice is to add piecewise constant functions to the pressure space. Results show that P1 + P0 pressure spaces are a significant cure for the well known “boundary leakage” affecting IBM. Convergence analysis is performed, showing how the discontinuity in the pressure is affecting the convergence rate for our finite element approximation