We study the incentives towards horizontal merger among firms when the amount of capital is the strategic variable. The type of firms we focus on is workers' cooperatives, but our conclusions apply also to employment-constrained profit maximisers. Within a simple oligopoly model, we prove that...

We study a supply chain in which a consumer goods manufacturer sells its product through a retailer. The retailer undertakes promotional expenditures, uch as advertising, to increase sales and to compete against other retailer(s). The manufacturer supports the retailer’s promotional...

This work compares cooperatives with other firms along two lines: (1) a description of structural development; and (2) a comparison of the strategies in response to the changes in the competitive environment in the last decade. Between 2001 and 2009, compared with other types of firms, Italian...

We investigate the economic resilience of the Italian regions between 2008 and 2019. We then calculate some indices of resistance as well as recovery for both real GDP per capita and employment. We show that during (and after) recessions such indices follow different patterns and the Southern...

The Italian region Emilia-Romagna ranks first among the world's most important cooperative districts. Using a unique dataset covering all firms registered in the region, we investigate the performance of active firms in the period 2010-18. By focusing on employment, revenue and profits of...

We propose a new model of mixed oligopoly where a workers' cooperative firms competes with a number of profit maximising companies. Building upon a large empirical evidence, we innovate as compared to the traditional literature on the objective function of the cooperative; moreover, its...

We present a statistical analysis of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Italian micro enterprises. Within the period we are examining (2012-2021), our primary focus will be on the last two years. We will show that, overall, cooperatives have been more severely affected than capitalist...

Between March 2017 and April 2017, ICEADR Institute conducted a survey among the Romanian fruit producers, in order to identify the problems they face and to highlight their opinions. The survey's results were used to find solutions for an efficient exploitation of fruits’ production....