L'ipotesi Prebisch - Singer 50 anni dopo: cosa abbiamo capito?

As regard the thesis that the terms of trade between primary commodities and manufactured goods tended to deteriorate during the twentieth century, econometric analysis based on the Grilli-Yang series have not produced decisive results. Many of these have, however, one point in common: the phenomenon, when present, is not continuous over time, but is concentrated in short periods of structural change, a fact which makes it extremely difficult to forecast deteriorations in the future. Work carried out more recently has highlighted the important role volatility in the terms of trade of primary commodities plays in conditioning any trend deteriorations. Leaving aside empirical results regarding deteriorations in the relation between the prices of primary commodities and manufactures, we believe that the policy insights provided by Prebisch and Singer remain substantially valid today: specialization in the agricultural sector or mining industry have so far not led to external economies able to drive other manufacturing sectors

Il fallimento del mercato e del non mercato nei servizi pubblici locali: alcuni sviluppi dalle idee di Giancarlo Mazzocchi

This article attempts to review some issues about market failures and non-market failures in the local public utilities. Considering the different regulatory regimes no one seems superior to the others. The limitation of the rate of return and price cap regulatory schemes are well known. Conditions under which franchising permits to reach first best solutions are very restrictive. Yardstick competition may obtain satisfactory results, if it is used with other regimes, and if the different situations in which enterprises work are taken into account

Globalisation and Development in the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate

In this article, after having shown the connections between the present Encyclical and Populorum Progressio, we attempt to point out how the new elements are linked to the phenomenon of globalisation. We shall analyse particularly the problems resulting from the technical forces in play, the global interrelations, the damaging effects on the real economy of badly managed and largely speculative financial dealing, the large-scale migration of peoples, the unregulated exploitation of the earth's resources. All the arguments considered should be interpreted in the light of the Introduction, which points out how the economic system requires ethics in order for it to work properly, recovering the principle of giftedness within a market economy where the exclusive search for profit and individual satisfaction cannot be the ruling principle