Location decision of polluting firms and environmental policy

The delocation of firms is often viewed as a major outcome of a stiff environmental policy. In this paper, we study the impact of a strict anti-pollution policy pursued by a government on domestic firms locational decisions and determine the main variables that interact with such a policy. Some preliminary welfare implications are also provided. Keywords: Environmental policy; Plant location; Imperfect competition. JEL classification: H7; R3; D4.

Human Capital Accumulation and Migration in a Peripheral EU Region: the Case of Basilicata

The importance of human capital as a key source of value added, innovation and economic growth is widely acknowledged by both economists and policy-makers. Local governments can directly affect individuals’ decision making by subsidising human capital formation. The ability of a regional system to generate human capital is crucial but it is not a sufficient condition leading to economic success. In this work we emphasise the importance of maintaining and attracting high-skilled individuals, and the challenge that migration flows pose on policymaking aimed at fostering human capital accumulation. Human capital does not always benefits the region where it was funded and the scope for the policy might vanish if the human capital formed locally is lost through migration, as emphasised by the “brain drain” literature. When agglomeration forces are at work, human capital migrates from where it is scarce to where it is abundant, rather than vice versa (Lucas 1988). This can result in migration widening the regional wage and income gap and lowering the standard of living in the peripheral location. Poor regions lose through migration their most valuable residents, the main source of innovation and productivity in a modern economy. This phenomenon contributes in explaining the persistent nature of regional economic imbalances. These consideration are highlighted through the analysis of a case study, the migration decision of a sample of highly educated and skilled individuals residing in a small peripheral Mezzogiorno region (Basilicata) which have benefited from a locally funded human capital investment policy. The regional policymakers, in recognition of the importance of human capital as a key ingredient for regional growth, have given generous subsidies since the beginning of the 90s to young graduates who wanted to attend a post-graduate course outside or inside the region. More than a thousand individuals have benefited from the policy in the last decade, and the target for the period 2000-2006 is to subsidise an additional two thousand individuals. A dataset was generated through a survey questionnaire which aims at directly asking people about their decision whether or not to move and the main factors influencing their decision. For each individual, we have collected data on background, experience and outcome of higher education, opinion on the quality of the course attended, job-search strategy after the course, and space-time career details from the first employment to the current employment status. The policy intervention under scrutiny and in particular the biased nature of the sample (highly skilled and educated individuals) makes the analysis a natural experiment for assessing the ability of the regional system in a peripheral EU region not only to generate human capital but also to maintain it. The focus of the paper is on the micro level migratory behaviour. In particular, we want to shed light on the following questions: (1) Who are the migrants; (2) What are the main factors influencing migration; (3) What is the resulting “geography” of the human capital generated? Is the human capital attracted toward core regions?

WATER RESOURCES AND WATER POLICIES

-

Do we really need regional innovation agencies? Some insights from the experience of an Italian region

Increasing globalization, if properly exploited, can provide interesting opportunities for regional economies. Nevertheless, when they are not managed with a far-sighted approach, regions, and particularly those at an intermediate level of development, can lose their comparative advantages compared to regions of developing countries. Innovation is the main instrument for improving and ensuring competitiveness to enterprises and growth opportunities to local economies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of public policies in reinforcing regional innovation systems, and the role of regional innovation agencies. With this in mind, we describe the policies implemented by the Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation (ARTI) of Apulia, a region in Southern Italy. We also provide the first assessment of ARTI’s activities and provide some suggestions on how to improve regional R&D policies.public policy; innovation; regional innovation system; regional competitiveness

Public expenditure in time of crisis: are Italian policymakers choosing the right mix?

In the ‘austerity debate’ a crucial issue is the composition of fiscal adjustment. This article provides empirical evidence on the relationship between economic crisis episodes and composition of public expenditure by examining the impact of economic crises on the share of different types of public spending in total public expenditure in the Italian regions. Our results suggest that fiscal consolidation strategies have not had growth-friendly expenditure composition. The crisis aggravated budgetary trade-offs by reducing the share of discretionary spending such as public investments

Simplified Model for Strengthening Design of Beam–Column Internal Joints in Reinforced Concrete Frames

The beam-column joints are very restricted areas in which the internal forces, generated by boundary elements, act on the concrete core and reinforcing bars with a very high gradient. They are the link between horizontal and vertical structural elements, and therefore, they are directly involved in the transfer of seismic forces. Thus, they are crucial to study the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. To fully understand the seismic performances and failure modes of beam-column joints in RC buildings, a simplified analytical model of joint behavior is proposed and theoretical simulations are performed. The aim of the model, focusing on internal perimetric joints, is to identify the strength hierarchy in terms of capacity for different failure modes (namely failure of cracked joint, bond failure of passing through bars, flexural/shear failures of columns or beams). It could represent a tool for the designers of new joints to quantify the performance of new structures, but also as a tool for the designers of external strengthening of existing joints in order to calculate the benefits of the retrofit and pushing the initial failure to a more desirable failure mode. Further, some experimental results of tests available in the scientific literature are reported, analyzed and compared

Masonry walls retrofitted with natural fibers under tsunami loads

AbstractIn the last decades, several tsunamis hit international coasts and engaged scientific awareness to the retrofit of coastal buildings against tsunami loads. Structural design under tsunami loads is difficult due to the high uncertainties of the phenomenon. Local collapse mechanisms of masonry walls, like as out of plane mechanisms, have an high probability due to flexural actions; a higher flexural capacity can be reached using specific retrofit systems; in particular, this paper aims to deepen the behavior of masonry walls retrofitted with innovative retrofit systems like as natural fibers applied with inorganic mortar matrices. The retrofit of structures under tsunami actions could be an innovative research topic for international research community dealing with coastal buildings located in areas characterized by a high tsunami risk. Recent engineering applications demonstrated the innovative strengthening systems to be effective for the retrofit of existing masonry buildings. These strengthening systems are of great interest in the practical applications due to the low costs and their sustainability. In fact, the lower costs compared to the synthetic fibers allow their diffusion in emerging countries. In a first part the impact of constituents on the structural capacity of masonry elements strengthened with natural systems has been discussed. Important results have been provided in order to improve the knowledge and encourage the development of these systems in many engineering applications. Finally, the effects of retrofit systems on masonry walls under tsunami loads will be discussed in terms of critical inundation depth variations before and after the interventions

HpARI protein secreted by a helminth parasite suppresses interleukin-33

Infection by helminth parasites is associated with amelioration of allergic reactivity, but mechanistic insights into this association are lacking. Products secreted by the mouse parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus suppress type 2 (allergic) immune responses through interference in the interleukin-33 (IL-33) pathway. Here, we identified H. polygyrus Alarmin Release Inhibitor (HpARI), an IL-33-suppressive 26-kDa protein, containing three predicted complement control protein (CCP) modules. In vivo, recombinant HpARI abrogated IL-33, group 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) and eosinophilic responses to Alternaria allergen administration, and diminished eosinophilic responses to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, increasing parasite burden. HpARI bound directly to both mouse and human IL-33 (in the cytokine's activated state) and also to nuclear DNA via its N-terminal CCP module pair (CCP1/2), tethering active IL-33 within necrotic cells, preventing its release, and forestalling initiation of type 2 allergic responses. Thus, HpARI employs a novel molecular strategy to suppress type 2 immunity in both infection and allergy. Osbourn et al identified HpARI, a protein secreted by a helminth parasite that is capable of suppressing allergic responses. HpARI binds to IL-33 (a critical inducer of allergy) and nuclear DNA, preventing the release of IL-33 from necrotic epithelial cells