In the present work we argue that in order to appraise the explanatory power of the existing explanations of dualism in the Italian economy it is important to examine their empirical predictions relatively to the territorial dispersion of some efficiency measures. Applying the non-parametric FDH...

This paper tests the existence of a Beveridge Curve across the economies of nine OECD countries from 1980 to 2011, investigating the impact of various kinds of structural factors (technological progress, globalisation, oil prices) and of the current recession on the Curve. Technological progress...

In this paper we test the nexus between financial development and economic growth upon territorially highly disaggregated data from Italy, paying particular attention to the role of market power of local banks and cooperative banks. Profit efficiency, computed using the so-called “true...

In this paper we show how the nature of economies of scale can be assessed using a set of procedures based on non-parametric frontier analysis. Through these procedures it is possible to characterise qualitatively the nature of returns to scale for each observation, yielding important...

We analyse the impact of business incentives on the technical efficiency of Italian manufacturing firms. Using DEA allows a novel treatment of the omitted-variable and sample-selection bias. Through DEA one carries out direct comparisons between similar observations akin to those carried out in...

In this paper we analyze the impact of the current financial crisis on the determination of technical efficiency in a sample of Italian small banks, highlighting the interaction of the crisis with different regulatory regimes existing for cooperative banks (CB’s) and other banks. We find that...

In this paper we test the hypothesis that central bank independence is closely correlated to social agreement about decisions on income distribution. Using data from a panel of OECD countries over the period 1972-2002 and controlling for several macroeconomic factors, we find evidence in favour...

We examine the influence of the 1992 and 1993 wage agreements on the disinflation experienced in Italy through the 1990s, providing econometric estimates both for the reaction function of the Bank of Italy and for 2-digit industry wage equations. We rely on industry-level measures for the degree...

<em>Structural Funds, Productivity and Employment: a Study on the Italian Regions</em> (by Gianluigi Coppola, Sergio Destefanis) - ABSTRACT: Objectives In this paper we study the impact of the European Structural Funds on the convergence process of the 20 Italian administrative regions. We consider the...

How to stimulate growth and support job creation are two critical challenges that countries and localities confront and limited resources require lateral thinking about how actions in one area, such as employment and training, can have simultaneous benefits in others, such as creating new jobs...