Paolo Sylos Labini: Reflections of a Classical Economist

The article provides a review of Sylos Labini’s memories, collected here on occasion of the tenth anniversary of his passing away. The author reports on the proceedings of two conferences in memory of Sylos Labini held in Rome, on 18 November 2015 at the Lincean Academy and on 4 December 2015 at Sapienza University. Sylos Labini stipulated that the goal of economic development is not just to satisfy human needs, but to cater civil development itself, in accordance with Adam Smith’s fundamental lesson. In his view, economic development and civil development interact in a circular manner in the long run. Considering the developmental issues of Italy’s Mezzogiorno, Sylos Labini highlights that the nature of the problem is not only economic, but rather many issues arise from unreasonable links between politics, economy, and society. Accordingly, he provided policy suggestions that are not limited to the economic and industrial fields (such as water supply projects, irrigation infrastructures, and investments for the creation of modern industries), but he also identified three priority areas of social policy: measures to contrast the mafias, crime in public procurement, and corruption; a reform of the public administration; and investments in education, universities, and research

Benefiting Colleagues but not the City: Localized Effects from the Relocation of Superstar Inventors

In this paper I examine episodes in which superstar inventors relocate to a new city. In particular, in order to assess whether the beneficial effects of physical proximity to a superstar have a restricted network dimension or a wider spatial breadth (spillovers), I estimate changes in patterns of patenting activity following these events for two different groups of inventors: the superstar’s close collaborators, and all the other inventors in a given urban area, for both the locality where the superstar moves to and for the one that is left behind. In the case of collaborators, I restrict the attention to patents realized independently from the superstar. The results from the event study register a large and persistent positive effect on the collaborators in the city of destination, as well as a simultaneous negative trend affecting those still residing in the previous location. In the long run, these effects translate into an increased difference between the two groups of about 0.16 patents per inventor. Conversely, no city-wide spillover effect can be attested, offering little support to place-based policies aimed at inducing a positive influx of top innovators in urban areas

What does it take to be top women economists? An analysis using rankings in RePEc

Women are substantially under-represented in the field of economics all around the world: their progress is slow and just few women reach top positions. From the 1980s, studies document the clear barriers and implicit biases in publishing, promotion, and tenure that women face to enter and to success in the field. The paper aims at contributing to this strand of literature proposing an analysis of gender differences in economics focusing on “excellence” in the profession and in the way the discipline is conceiving and reproducing it in rankings. Using RePEc as a dataset, I test how different definitions of excellence can systematically advantage or disadvantage women’s visibility in rankings of top economists and how it impacts on their probability to receive rightful recognition in academia. I found that, even among top economists, being a woman significantly reduces the probability of reaching the top of the profession by almost 15 pp. The results also underline a problematic relationship between gender and excellence that sets the bar higher for women in reaching the top of the academic career. Women economists, despite their efforts to increase their visibility, tend to receive less recognition than men in terms of promotion to full-professorship based on the criterion of excellence in which they excel. In fact, women are penalised in their academic progresses, not only for their lower productivity in terms of number of published articles than their male colleagues but also for lower returns in promotions for their high performance in terms of citations received. Challenging the assumption about gender neutral excellence is a first important step to challenge power hierarchical patriarchal structures in the economics profession and to advance the representation of women and diverse individuals in apical roles in economics

Differenze di genere e di passo. Gli ultimi 11 anni delle economiste accademiche italiane

Le economiste sono state e sono tuttora sotto rappresentate ai vertici della gerarchia accademica italiana; partendo da questa inconfutabile osservazione l'obiettivo di questo lavoro è dare un contributo all'analisi di genere della progressione di carriera nelle università italiane nelle discipline economiche, analizzando la componente femminile tra gli economisti accademici negli ultimi undici anni al fine di studiare come l’essere donna abbia influenzato e tuttora incida nei percorsi di carriera accademica in Italia

Connecticut\u27s Opioid Crisis & The Housing Crisis

This paper analyzes the opioid crisis in Connecticut and creates a correlation between this growing crisis with the housing crisis facing Connecticut residents as well. Through data analysis and analytic regression, a strong correlation can be found between these two variables. The next step is arriving to a resolution that can help save lives that are vulnerable

Alla ricerca del contributo perduto: (in)visibilità delle economiste nelle riviste italiane dal 1930 al 1970

L’articolo vuole riportare alla luce il contributo delle economiste all’evoluzione del pensiero economico italiano. È un primo passo nella direzione di colmare la sostanziale ignoranza su chi fossero le pioniere della disciplina economica in Italia andandone ad identificare i principali contributi negli articoli pubblicati dalle riviste economiche italiane nel periodo che va dagli anni ’30 agli anni ’70

Memoria di un’inguaribile combattente: Irma Adelman

The paper is a contribution to Irma Adelman, who passed away on February 24, 2017. Prof. Adelman is the only woman economist whose autobiography has been published in the series of recollections and reflections on the professional experiences of distinguished economists that “Moneta e Credito” and the “BNL Quarterly Review” started in 1979. The obituary highlights her main themes of research, research tools and those ideas that most affected the current approach to economic development. It also gives hints on her personality, her courage and resilience that could inspire young women in academia

Éthique clinique en psychiatrie : l’expérience de l’Hôpital Douglas

Les auteurs présentent un bref aperçu du comité d’éthique clinique de l’institut universitaire en santé mentale auquel ils sont rattachés, ainsi que l’évolution de son mandat au cours des dernières décennies. Les principales fonctions portent sur la consultation clinique, l’influence exercée sur la formulation des politiques de l’institution et l’éducation destinée au personnel et au grand public en ce qui a trait à l’éthique et la santé mentale. À partir d’exemples et de questions débattues au sein du comité, les auteurs illustrent comment ces fonctions sont inter-reliées. Ils estiment que le questionnement éthique aide à revoir les pratiques cliniques et favorise ultimement de meilleures pratiques dans le domaine de la santé mentale.The authors present a brief overview of the clinical ethics committee within their mental health university institute as well as its evolving mandates over the past few decades. The main functions include case consultation, input on elaboration of institutional policy, and staff education as well as public information on issues of ethics and mental illness. With examples and questions brought to the committee’s attention, the authors demonstrate how these functions are intertwined. The authors conclude that ethical questioning helps examine clinical practices and serves ultimately in guiding towards best practices in mental health.Los autores presentan un breve resumen del comité de ética clínica del instituto universitario de salud mental al que están incorporados, así como la evolución de su mandato en el curso de las últimas décadas. Las principales funciones son acerca de la consulta clínica, la influencia ejercida a nivel de la formulación de las políticas de la institución y la educación destinada al personal y al público en general, en relación con la ética y la salud mental. A partir de ejemplos y cuestiones discutidas en el seno del comité, los autores ilustran la forma en que estas funciones están interrelacionadas. Los autores estiman que el cuestionamiento ético ayuda a revisar las prácticas clínicas y favorece posteriormente a mejores prácticas en el área de la salud mental.Os autores apresentam uma breve visão geral da comissão de ética clínica do instituto universitário em saúde mental ao qual estão ligados, assim como a evolução de seu mandato durante as últimas décadas. Suas principais funções tratam sobre a consulta clínica, a influência exercida ao nível da formulação das políticas da instituição e a educação destinada aos funcionários e ao público em geral com respeito à ética e à saúde mental. A partir de exemplos e de questões debatidas dentro da comissão, os autores ilustram como essas funções estão interligadas. Os autores acreditam que o questionamento ético ajuda a rever as práticas clínicas e favorece, finalmente, melhores práticas na área da saúde mental

Machine Learning and Financial Literacy: An Exploration of Factors Influencing Financial Knowledge in Italy

In recent years, machine learning techniques have assumed an increasingly central role in many areas of research, from computer science to medicine, including finance. In the current study, we applied it to financial literacy to test its accuracy, compared to a standard parametric model, in the estimation of the main determinants of financial knowledge. Using recent data on financial literacy and inclusion among Italian adults, we empirically tested how tree-based machine learning methods, such as decision trees, random, forest and gradient boosting techniques, can be a valuable complement to standard models (generalized linear models) for the identification of the groups in the population in most need of improving their financial knowledge