We compare single ballot vs dual ballot elections under plurality rule, assuming sincere voting and allowing for partly endogenous party formation. Under the dual ballot, the number of parties is larger but the influence of extremists voters on equilibrium policy is smaller, because their...

This paper discusses the link between R&D and productivity across the European industrial and service sectors. The empirical analysis is based on both the European sectoral OECD data and on a unique micro longitudinal database consisting of 532 top European R&D investors. The main conclusions...

This paper examines the relationship between the degree of openness that software start-ups choose and some of the main industrial features faced by new entrants. Hypotheses derived from a formal model are tested through the implementation of econometric techniques and information provided by a...

This paper compares the European Central Bank’s conduct of monetary policy (1999-2005) with that of the Bundesbank (after the German Unification: 1990-1998) in order to test the hypothesis of an ECB with “Bundesbank’s preferences” put forward in the theoretical literature (Alesina and...

Political short-termism obtains when a politician provides a public good that gives an immediate payoff while it would be optimal for the society that he provided a public good that gives a payoff only in the future. We consider a simple two-period political agency model and study whether...

The existing literature which analyses the relationship between the product differentiation degree and the sustainability of a collusive agreement on price assumes that firms cannot price discriminate, and concludes that there is a negative relationship between the product differentiation degree...

The aim of this paper is the definition and measurement of the concept of poverty of families in nine regions of Italy. Poverty tends to be a multi-dimensional concept and the use of monetary income as a single measure of well-being can be misleading. The concept of equality of living standards...

The interplay between liquidity and credit risks in the interbank market is analyzed. Banks are hit by idiosyncratic random liquidity shocks. The market may also be hit by a bad news at a future date, implying the insolvency of some participants and creating a lemon problem; this may end up with...

Private insurance markets provide insufficient coverage for risks coming from natural disasters. We argue that in such markets the typical market failure is mainly due to reasons other than asymmetric information. More specifically, the low probability of a disaster, together with the height of...

Improving a company's bargaining position is often cited as a chief motivation to vertically integrate with suppliers. This paper expands on that view in building a new theory of vertical integration. In my model firms integrate to gain bargaining power against other suppliers in the production...