In the recent years a large literature on indicators of well-being and quality of life has proliferated, all departing from a strict economic view of these phenomena. While all these indicators sign an important step for the recognition of well-being as a multidimensional phenomenon, they are...

After years of preconceptions about co-operatives in developing countries, scholars and international institutions have re-evaluated their role particularly in poverty reduction strategies. Crucial condition is that co-operatives are considered as genuine, authentically participatory...

In time of worry for large deficits, the question on whether direct democracy can be a problem or a promise to better rule modern societies may arise. Both theoretical and empirical studies provide mixed answers. This paper investigates both the indirect (i.e. the existence) and the direct...

In this paper we examine the relationship between air pollution and hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Italy, at province level, over the period 2004- 2009. To this end, we use information on annual mean concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,...

This paper contributes to the issue of the uneven distribution of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects among developing countries. By applying a gravity model to a panel dataset at bilateral country level, we find that well-established export flows from developed economies towards...

The objective of this paper is to explore why some countries perform better than others in managing the current economic crisis, which started in 2007 in the US financial sector. I will elaborate on this question using the Crisis Management Index, taking into consideration GDP and labour market...

From the period of Unification until the mid-seventies of last century, Italy – latter a country of immigration – has witnessed considerable migratory flows towards foreign countries. In the paper are analyzed, from a predominantly demographic perspective, the outflows which covered the...

The paper is based on the idea that the organization of services by local authorities should take into account both the demographic features of the resident population and the spatial dimension of the territory involved. As regards the former, it seeks to identify homogeneous and spatially...

The paper analyses the problem of evaluating a guarantee contract against default risk in which the guarantor party is defaultable and the default risks of the guarantor and of the borrower are correlated. This problem has several relevant applications within the present sovereign risk crisis....

The historical data show that the early modern period in Great Britain paved the way to the classical industrial revolution presenting the rst phase of capital accumulation and rise in per capita income. This paper captures the relevant evidence by means of a stylized model describing two...