Why Are they Doing so Well while We Are Doing so Badly? A Comparison between the Canadian and Italian University Systems

The Italian university system is in a profound and dangerous crisis. The below par performance of Italian universities is compared with the increasingly successful accomplishments of Canadian Universities. The paper identifies the major source of this performance differential in the hiring and promotion procedures. Funding methods also facilitate the success of Canadian Universities. The paper recommends a radical reform of the Italian system and a move towards a more decentralized, independent, flexible and transparent system like that of Canada.

Aggregate Shocks vs Reallocation Shocks: an Appraisal of the Applied Literature

This paper critically appraises the di erent approaches that have characterized the literature on the macroeconomic e ects of job reallocations from Lilien's seminal work to recent developments rooted in structural general equilibrium models, nonlinear econometric techniques and the concepts of job creation and destruction. Despite a ourishing of empirical analysis no unifying theoretical framework has obtained consensus in the scienti c debate. We face a corpus of research which is heterogeneous in variables' selection and experimental design. This widespread heterogeneity makes the evaluation of results a daunting task. Reliability of outcomes becomes almost impossible to assess when, even within models of the same generation, the lack of a rigorous theoretical background hinders well de ned experimental design and makes comparisons di cult. The strong pace at which the empirical literature on the macroeconomic e ects of job reallocations has been growing in recent years suggests that a general assessment of the state of the art is valuable and maybe indispensable. As a guiding principle for our excursion we track down the methodological development of the proposed solutions to the crucial problem of observational equivalence. We do not linger on speci c econometric methods nor on strictly theoretical issues not relevant to our main purpose. We draw the conclusion that the asymmetric and non-directional nature of allocative shocks, which holds the key to the solution of the problem, is better captured by multivariate, non-linear, dynamic econometric models and numerical simulation techniques. Davis and Haltiwanger's perspective on job creation and destruction seems to us of paramount importance for future research because of its potential to encompass a wealth of micro-level data sets within a rigorous analytical framework.Sectoral shifts, methodology, measurement, assessment

NON-LINEARITY IN THE CANADIAN AND US LABOUR MARKETS: UNIVARIATE AND MULTIVARIATE EVIDENCE FROM A BATTERY OF TESTS

The assumption of linearity is tested using five statistical tests for the US and Canadian unemployment rates, growth rates of the sectoral shares of construction, finance, manufacturing and trade sectors. An AR(p) model was used to remove any linear structure from the series. Evidence of non-linearity is found for the sectoral shares with all five statistical tests in the US case but not in the aggregate level. The results for Canada are not so clear-cut. Evidence of unspecified non-linearity is found in the unemployment rate and in the sectoral shares. Overall important asymmetries are found in disaggregated labour market variables in the univariate setting. The linearity hypothesis was also examined in a multivariate framework. Evidence is provided that important asymmetries exist and a linear VAR cannot capture the dynamics of employment reallocation.Non-linearity, Sectoral Shares

Non-Linearity in the Canadian and US Labour Market: Univariate and Multivariate Evidence from a battery of tests.

The non-linearity of macroeconomic processes is becoming an increasingly important issue both at theoretical and empirical level. This trend holds for labour market variables as well. Reallocation theory of unemployment relies on non-linearities. At the same time there is mounting empirical evidence of business cycles asymmetries. Thus the assumption of linearity /non-linearity becomes crucial for the corroboration of labour market theories. This paper turns on the microscope on the assumption of linearity and investigates the presence of asymmetries on aggregate and disaggregate labour market variables. The assumption of linearity is tested using five statistical tests for the US and Canadian unemployment rates, growth rates of the employment sectoral shares of construction, finance, manufacturing and trade sectors. An AR(p) model was used to remove any linear structure from the series. Evidence of non-linearity is found for the sectoral shares with all five statistical tests in the US case but not in the aggregate level. The results for Canada are not clear-cut. Evidence of unspecified non-linearity is found in the unemployment rate and in the sectoral shares. Overall important asymmetries are found in disaggregated labour market variables in the univariate setting. The linearity hypothesis was also examined in a multivariate framework. Evidence is provided that important asymmetries exist and a linear VAR cannot capture the dynamics of employment reallocation.Non-linearity, Sectoral Shares.

Guest Editorial

A short presentation and description of the papers that have been selected from the second workshop of the Regional Studies Research Network on Geographical Localisation, Intersectoral Reallocation of Labour and Unemployment Differentials (GLUNLAB II)) that took place in Rimini, Italy, on May 14th-15th , 2009.Unemployment, local labour markets, regional economics

Guest Editorial

A short presentation and description of the papers that have been selected from the First workshop of the Regional Studies Research Network on Geographical Localization, Intersectoral Reallocation of Labour and Unemployment Differentials (GLUNLAB)Unemployment, Regional Economics

On the role of human capital and instruments of assistance for rural entrepeneurship and development: evidence from a case study in mountainous Italy

Fostering entrepreneurship as a tool for the creation and support of rural businesses is a crucial goal for the integrated development and survival of rural economies. Despite the recognition of entrepreneurship as one of the main determinants of rural economic development, empirical research in this field is relatively sparse and the concept of rural entrepreneurship remains largely unexplored. Thus, there is little evidence on the role and function of rural entrepreneurs, the driving force behind the birth, survival and growth of rural enterprises. The present work, emerging from a larger project on rural entrepreneurship in the mountainous areas of southern Europe, aims to provide a contribution to filling this gap in knowledge. In this paper we present and analyse the results emerging from a questionnaire submitted to a sample of 123 entrepreneurs and rural businesses in a mountainous area of central Italy. The paper focuses on the correlation between entrepreneurial human capital and the adoption of instruments of assistance, and provides an assessment on their role in stimulating entrepreneurship in the specific area. In the light of the empirical results, we examine and propose potential policies for fostering entrepreneurship and the development of the rural region under study