Credit crunch: analisi e possibili soluzioni

La seconda fase della grande crisi finanziaria iniziata nel 2010, c.d. del debito so-vrano, ha pesantemente colpito le banche italiane, determinando dal 2011 una si-tuazione di credit crunch per famiglie e imprese. L’obiettivo del presente contributo è di analizzare come il credit crunch stia determinando una situazione di disintermediazione, ormai strutturale, del canale bancario per il credito alle imprese, modificando il tradizionale rapporto banca-impresa in Italia. Come conseguenza occorre individuare e implementare azioni volte a intervenire sull’assetto complessivo del nostro sistema finanziario per porre rimedio a severe carenze strutturali in termini di strumenti, mercati e intermediari

Genome sequencing provides new insights on the distribution of Erwinia amylovora lineages in northern Italy

Erwinia amylovora is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes a wide variety of plant species causing recurrent local outbreaks of fire blight in crops of the Rosaceae family. Recent genomic surveys have documented the limited genomic diversity of this species, possibly related to a recent evolutionary bottleneck and a strong correlation between geography and phylogenetic structure of the species. Despite its economic importance, little is known about the genetic variability of co-circulating strains during local outbreaks. Here, we report the genome sequences of 82 isolates of E. amylovora, collected from different host plants in a period of 16 years in Trentino, a small region in the Northeastern Italian Alps that has been characterized by recurrent outbreaks of fire blight in apple orchards. While the genome isolated before 2018 are closely related to other strains already present in Europe, we found a novel subclade composed only by isolates that were sampled starting from 2018 and demonstrate that the endemic population of this pathogen can be composed by mixture of strain

Orientus ishidae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae): biology, direct damage and preliminary studies on apple proliferation infection in apple orchard

The mosaic leafhopper, Orientus ishidae (Matsumura), is an Asian species widespread in Europe that can cause leaf damage in wild trees and transmit disease phytoplasmas to grapevines. Following an O. ishidae outbreak reported in 2019 in an apple orchard in northern Italy, the biology and damage caused by this species to apples were investigated during 2020 and 2021. Our studies included observations on the O. ishidae life cycle, leaf symptoms associated to its trophic activity, and its capability to acquire "Candidatus Phytoplasma mali," a causal agent of Apple Proliferation (AP). The results indicate that O. ishidae can complete the life cycle on apple trees. Nymphs emerged between May and June, and adults were present from early July to late October, with the peak of flight between July and early August. Semi-field observations allowed for an accurate description of leaf symptoms that appeared as a distinct yellowing after a one-day exposure. In field experiments, 23% of the leaves were found damaged. In addition, 16-18% of the collected leafhoppers were found carrying AP phytoplasma. We conclude that O. ishidae has the potential to be a new apple tree pest. However, further studies are required to better understand the economic impact of the infestations

Interlaboratory performance of a Real-Time PCR method for detection of Ceratocystis platani, the agent of canker stain of Platanus spp

Ceratocystis platani (CP), an ascomycetous fungus, is the agent of canker stain, a lethal vascular disease of Platanus species. Ceratocystis platani has been listed as a quarantine pest (EPPO A2 list) due to extensive damage caused in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. As traditional diagnostic assays are ineffective, a Real-Time PCR detection method based on EvaGreen, SYBR Green, and Taqman assays was previously developed, validated in-house, and included in the official EPPO standard PM7/14 (2). Here, we describe the results of a test performance study performed by nine European laboratories for the purpose of an interlaboratory validation. Verification of the DNA extracted from biological samples guaranteed the high quality of preparations, and the stability and the homogeneity of the aliquots intended for the laboratories. All of the laboratories reproduced nearly identical standard curves with efficiencies close to 100%. Testing of blind-coded DNA extracted from wood samples revealed that all performance parameters-diagnostic sensitivity, diagnostic specificity, accuracy and reproducibility-were best fit in most cases both at the laboratory and at the assay level. The previously established limit of detection, 3 fg per PCR reaction, was also validated with similar excellent results. The high interlaboratory performance of this Real-Time PCR method confirms its value as a primary tool to safeguard C. platani-free countries by way of an accurate monitoring, and to investigate the resistance level of potentially canker stain-resistant Platanus genotypes

Bridging the Equity Gap for Innovative SMES

The contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to job creation, innovation and economic growth is acknowledged and testified in developed countries, as well as in developing and emerging economies. Although it represents an extremely small proportion of the total number of SMEs in any given country, the subsector of innovative SMEs (ISMEs) has an even greater role in creating new jobs and enhancing technological development, with a major contribution to overall economic growth. This is particularly true for advanced economies, where growth in productivity is generated not so much by the accumulation of capital as by innovation and its diffusion by the knowledge spillover mechanism and entrepreneurial capital.In view of the strategic economic role played by the creation and development of these firms, an understanding is required of the factors which may adversely affect the growth of SMEs, and especially the financial difficulties which may prevent them from fulfilling their potential. Since SMEs, and ISMEs in particular, may face serious constraints due to market failures, these firms may be the victims of financing and equity gaps even in advanced economies. Given this scenario, the book deals with the theme of the equity gap for innovative SMEs and the devices and instruments developed in order to bridge it. The main research questions might be summarised as follows:1. Is it possible to separate out and verify the financing constraints that affect the birth and development of ISMEs?2. Is it possible to identify and perhaps measure the size of the financing gap in a reliable manner?3. Is there a role for financial intermediaries and markets in bridging the equity gap? And if so, what is it?4. Is public intervention feasible in solving this problem? If so which are the best practices developed at the international level by policy-makers?The main results can be summarized as follows:1. There are certainly financing constraints that affect the birth and development of ISMEs in particular, arising from market failures due especially to an information asymmetry. Moreover, given the specific characteristics of firms of this kind, risk capital emerges as the most suitable form of financing, in a reversal of the traditional hierarchic financing structure. 2. An equity gap for young and innovative SMEs does exist. The measurement techniques developed up to now have not been completely satisfactory due to their concentration on qualitative methods; in spite of this, they are useful for an initial prima rough quantification of the phenomenon. However an improvement in quantitative estimation is required, and the original model presented here is intended as a step in this direction. 3. The intermediaries which may contribute the most to overcoming the financial constraints facing ISMEs are venture capitalists and business angels; they also make a significant contribution to the growth of venture-backed firms. As far as financial markets are concerned, exchanges do not appear suitable for financing the initial growth stages, but they are able to help remove financial constraints by providing investors with the guarantee of effective exit strategies. To this end the identification or creation of specific markets/segments on which these firms can be listed seems to be the right path.4. The existence of market failures in providing ISMEs with adequate financial resources justifies the growing role of the public sector in providing equity financing. However, as the best practice developed at the international level shows, an effective public intervention policy must take all the instruments in the financial ladder into consideration and also include non-financial measures aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship. Moreover, a cost-benefits analysis assessing the fit between the objectives and results of public assistance schemes is necessary as a basis for the drafting of future policies

Innovation and Economic Growth

It is widely recognised that the innovation process is a fundamental driver for economic growth, due to its role in increasing output and productivity. This is particularly true for the advanced economies, which are increasingly reliant on innovation and entrepreneurship for their sustained growth (Bottazzi et al., 2001).Technological change, resulting from innovative activities including investments in intangibles such as R&D, impacts positively, in the long term, on both employment rates and incomes. Therefore at the macro level, a country’s ability to innovate supports its long-term growth. The most advanced economies are depending to an ever-greater extent on factors such as knowledge, information and high skill levels, and have a growing need for rapid access to these, in the ‘knowledge-based economy’, of which innovation is seen as the main driver.The reinforcement of innovation is one of the pillars of the strategy adopted to achieve the aim set by the Lisbon Council of Europe in March 2000: to make the European Union the world’s most competitive, dynamic knowledge-based economy by the end of the decade. The European Commission (2002) has already underlined that a lack of innovation is one of the key factors behind Europe’s disappointing results with regard to growth in productivity.Policy-makers therefore have an obvious interest in adopting policies which create the conditions in which technological change can develop at the micro level, in individual firms, through innovative activities and investments. R&D has a key role in achieving this, by enhancing a firm’s capacity to absorb and make use of new knowledge of all kinds, not just technological knowledge.The chapter is structured as follows. First of all, we focus on the problem of defining innovation and innovative activities and on the factors influencing innovation. In the second paragraph, we analyse the mechanisms by which innovation is spread through the economy, by means of knowledge spillover and entrepreneurship capital, to influence economic growth. Finally, after pointing out that the financing gap is particularly large for new and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we will analyse venture capital as a further mechanism of economic growth

The determinants of equity needs: size, youth or innovation?

Purpose – This paper sets out to critically review the approaches developed for the assessment of the equity gap, extending the quantitative approaches to the equity gap and developing a demand-side model that allows accurate prediction of the future demand for equity.Design/methodology/approach – The first part of the paper deals with financial constraints for innovative SMEs and the possible existence of an equity gap. The next step concentrates on calculating the additional amount of equity needed in order to finance the expected growth in sales. Findings – With regard to the approaches developed to estimate the scale of the equity gap, our main finding is that demand-side analysis is the least well developed. Through the application of an original model to a sample of Italian firms, we find that the degree of innovation cannot be considered the main discriminating factor when it comes to the differences in equity requirement per unit of marginal sale; the analysis reveals the pivotal role played by the enterprise’s year of foundation.Research limitations/implications – The empirical data considered in this paper are from a large database that does not cover the period before the company starts to sell its goods on the market; moreover, the estimation of the amount of equity needed cannot be considered explicit evidence of an equity gap problem, since the gap itself implies an unfulfilled demand for additional sources of finance, only measurable in qualitative terms. Practical implications – The research will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in defining appropriate mechanisms for bridging the equity gap for SMEs. Originality/value – The attempts to quantify the scale of the equity gap at the international level have been limited by the availability of data. As a result, they have tended to be largely qualitative, and their conclusions anecdotal. The model presented here allows precise prediction of the future demand for equity: the results could indirectly confirm that there is indeed a gap in the availability of risk capital for SMEs

Regole sul capitale e prassi di vigilanza: impatti sulle scelte strategiche delle banche

L’apparato regolatorio delle banche è diventato sempre più oneroso e complesso, condizionando scelte strategiche, modello di business e ruolo nel finanziamento dell’economia. I requisiti patrimoniali di Pilastro 1 e di Pilastro 2 (ambito SREP) di Basilea 3 hanno richiesto una contemporanea azione di ricapitalizzazione e derisking, con riduzione delle RWA, evidenziando il nesso “requisiti di capital adequacy-business model-redditività e remunerazione del capitale”. Le azioni strategiche per il recupero di una redditività sostenibile vanno individuate nella modifica del modello di business e nell’efficientamento delle strutture, in presenza di over-regulation e talora di sovrapposizione di competenze tra regolatore e autorità di vigilanza

Introduction [Bridging the Equity Gap for Innovative SMEs]

There is an increasing perception that Europe's growth problems, in the present competitive environment, may be caused not so much by rigidities in labour markets, as by weaknesses in capital markets, and in particular in the access to risk capital. This chapter introduces the evaluation of the financial needs and constraints faced by start-up firms and the means for bridging their financing and equity gaps during the firm's most crucial growth phases. The role of public sector intervention is analysed, focusing on international best practices and the creation of public-private partnerships aiming at developing a private venture capital market for these innovative firm