The paper analyzes the evolution of the trade specialization patterns in Italy and its main trade partners (France, Germany, and the United States). In the methodological section we discuss the effectiveness of the Lafay index as an indicator of specialization. We then propose some modifications...

Three industrial organization (IO) models suggested by Dornbusch (1987) are here adapted to study the labor-cost effects on relative prices of tradable goods between the regions of a monetary union. The assumption of imperfect and segmented goods and labor markets makes the analysis best suited...

Italian Abstract: Il tema dell'innovazione è come collegare un investimento oggi ad un profitto futuro dovuto a costi o processi più efficienti e dunque meno costosi. La saggezza comune spera che maggiore l'investimento più vicina sia la data della scoperta. Il collegamento è qui modellato...

Italian Abstract: Il presente saggio e' finalizzato ad esaminare alcuni tipi di rimedi proconcorrenziali nel settore delle comunicazioni elettroniche (in particolare, i processi di separazione funzionale e strutturale) e l’impatto che possono avere le misure di mero enforcement, tenendo in...

Growth Diagnostics, GD, by Ricardo Hausmann, Dani Rodrik and Andrés Velasco, represents a useful and practical approach in order to identify the most binding constraints to explain low economic growth. According to the authors the full list of specific economic constraints is unknowable...

In this work we consider the link between corporate governance and social responsibility (CSR) in local utilities companies. More specifically, we use the term 'tool of corporate governance' as a tool able to support the governance of a company to reach its strategic aims, reconcile efficiency...

Il lavoro analizza il processo di riallocazione della proprietà nei settori manifatturieri di 16 paesi europei nel biennio 2006-2007, concentrandosi sullo studio dei fattori istituzionali, settoriali e tecnologici alla base di fusioni ed acquisizioni. In particolare si esaminano le determinanti...

More than a decade has now gone by since the crises of Banco di Napoli, Banco di Sicilia, Sicilcassa and the majors southern “Casse di Risparmio” have actually decreed the vanishing of an independent banking system in southern regions, but the economic and political debate on the effects of...

Using Bank of Italy data on Italian banks in the period 1990-2004, the paper analyses the short and long-run effects of the concentration of the banking industry on the availability of credit to small and medium-sized firms. Our study employs a bank-based approach and investigates the...

The banking industry is consolidating at an accelerating pace, yet no conclusive results have emerged on the benefits of mergers and acquisitions. We analyze the Italian market, which is similar to other main European countries. By considering both acquisitions (i.e. the purchase of the majority...