This paper presents an application of two ML models to the analysis of residential demand of water - the heterogeneity and the two-error model, both apt to model demand in presence of a kinked budget constraint. The heterogeneity model is especially suitable when the distribution is...

In the last decade there has been an upsurge of studies on international comparisons of Total Factor Productivity (TFP). The empirical evidence suggests that countries and regions differ not only in traditional factor endowments (labour and physical capital) but mainly in productivity and...

Empirical research on the impact and determinants of group lending is by now substantial. However, very little is known about the possible role of collateral to mitigate incentive problems in group lending. This is because microcredit programs have normally been implemented in rural areas of...

This paper analyses the real effects of financial development subsequent to financial liberalisation in an economy with risk averse savers and learning by lending. Transition from full financial repression to full financial liberalisation might initially slow down the growth process or even...

Psychological Game Theory (PGT) extends classical game theory allowing for the formal analysis of belief-dependent sentiments and emotions such as resentment, pride, shame, gratefulness, and the like. PGT incorporates these factors by relating agents subjective expected utility to players...

Quality of life is increasingly becoming a concept researched empirically and theoretically in the field of economics. In urban economics in particular, this increasing interest stems mainly from the fact that quality of life affects urban competitiveness and urban growth - research shows that...

The success of many micro-credit initiatives is difficult to account for in the traditional economic framework, where, mainly because of the assumption of self-interested behaviour, credit is rationed and provided only to those able to back it with collaterals. Having analysed different...

The 1998 reform of the Italian retail trade sector delegated the regulation of entry of large stores to the regional governments. We use the local variation in regulation to determine the effects of entry barriers on sectoral performance. We address the endogeneity of entry barriers through...

In questo lavoro l’analisi degli spillover si è concentrata sulle esternalità fra le impre-se italiane del tipo intra- e inter-industry ed i loro effetti sulla produttività. Le rela-zioni tra i vari settori sono state approssimate attraverso una matrice degli scambi commerciali. I...

This paper investigates on the role played by public capital in increasing the productivity levels in Italy. For the construction of the regional series for the public capital stock over the period 1996-2003, the study benefits from the use of the rich dataset on public expenditure, recently...