This paper develops an overlapping generation model with asymmetric information in the credit market such that the interplay between relationship finance supplied by investors who monitor investment decisions ex-ante and market finance supplied by investors who relay on public information can be...

We exploit time variation in the degree of development of local credit markets and matched employer-employee data to assess the role of the firm as an internal credit market. In less developed local credit markets firms can offer a flatter wage-tenure profile than firms in more developed credit...

The main aim of this paper is to build up and to analyze a composite indicator, the Happy Planet Index (HPI), as an alternative measure to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in evaluating nations’ well-being. HPI was firstly developed by the New Economic Foundation in July 2006 and it is the...

Models of social preferences explain departures from pure self-interest as a consequence of either outcome-based or intention-based other-regarding motives. Various experimental studies lend support to the conclusion that subjects behave as if they conditioned their behaviour on the perceived...

This paper aims to evaluate the distributional impact of both income taxation and noncash income transfers in Italy, where the latter are related to health and educational services. By definition, a tax (in-kind income transfers) system is progressive (regressive) if the tax liabilities (the non...

According to NEG literature (Baldwin et al. (2004)), spatial concentration of industrial activities increases growth at the regional and aggregate level without generating regional growth differentials. This view is not supported by the data. We extend the canonical model with an additional...

Relying on a direct question about the desired amount of precautionary wealth from the 2002 wave of the Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth, I assess the main determinants of precautionary motive for saving. In particular, I focus on the role played by financial risk on households...

The gradual expansion of urban transport systems brings a series of undesirable socio-economic and environmental impacts that affect the quality of life in cities. Assessing the performance of transport policies is therefore crucial for attaining a sustainable urban development. Adopting an...

When skilled labour is imported, skill levels of local workers may be raised by contact with new techniques and practices. European basketball offers an opportunity to test this general claim. For a panel of 47 countries observed over more than twenty years, we model probability of qualification...

We run a modified dictator game experiment to investigate the determinants of donation choices to philanthropic organizations. We find experimentally that the adoption of a simple form of accountability such as the disclosure of information on the ranking of aggregate contributions received...