Social inclusion is one of the key challenges of the European Union (EU) Sustainable Development Strategy. We use four indicators from EU policies to measure social inclusion for the 27 member countries of Europe. In particular, we aggregate the four indicators in a multiplicative composite...

We use the PISA 2006 results to analyse the students' proficiencies in 24 European Countries with regard to two indexes that represent the educational resources available at home and the family background of students. Many factors affect the proficiencies and therefore, using a DEA-bootstrap...

<em>Economic disparities and context variables. A non-parametric analysis for Italian regions</em> Objectives The paper provides a ranking of performance scores, originated by indicators of economic and social context, in order to compare the position of each region relative to the others over the period...

<i> Infrastrutture e divari regionali di produttività. Una rassegna critica </i> (di Erasmo Vassallo) - ABSTRACT: In the contest of the relationship about economic development, productivity and infrastructures, this paper presents a critical revue of empirical literature and econometric models. This...

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Italian Government has attempted to implement a new generation of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities. It is claimed that compared to the past, these policies should be more far reaching since they emphasize the importance of the structural...