In this paper we analyze a fiscal mechanism used in Italy, which in Italian is called “Studi di Settore” (Sector Studies). This mechanism relies on information gathered on taxpayers to both partition the population into fairly homogeneous clusters and to determine the presumed income they...

This paper studies the impact of a set of managerial features on performance in the top division of the Italian football league during seasons 2000/01-2009/10. Our set of coach characteristics includes indicators of skill, experience, innate features as well as empathy with the team. We find...

We investigate the comparative technical efficiency of producer cooperatives (PCs) and conventional firms (CFs) by looking at the performance of a mixed sample of Sardinian wine producing companies over the period 2004-2009. Thanks to the similarity of the habitats in which the firms operate,...

In this paper we introduce a weighted Z-estimator for moment condition models in the presence of auxiliary information on the unknown distribution of the data under the assumption of weak dependence. The resulting weighted estimator is shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal. Its small...

In the last decades, the interest in the relationship between crime and business cycle has widely increased. It is a diffused opinion that a causal relationship goes from economic variables to criminal activities. This work aims to verify this proposition by using the dynamic factor model to...

Recent theoretical models predict gains from international trade coming from intra-industry reallocations, due to a firm selection effect. In this paper we answer two related questions. First, what is the magnitude of this selection effect, and how does it compare to that of intra-national...

The paper studies a two-sector economy with investments in human and physical capital and imperfect labor markets. Workers and firms endogenously select (paying a fixed cost) the sector they are active in, and choose the amount of their investments. The economy is characterized by pecuniary...

This paper estimates returns to schooling at Spanish regional level. We identify two different convergence clubs of rich/educated and poor/uneducated regions. Overall our results stress the importance of the relationship existing between the level of development of an economy and returns to...

In this paper, we propose a generalised specification of a time varying transition probability Markov switching model for U.S. industrial production index. The model is specifically designed to investigate the presence of asymmetries in the shape of the cycle, given its relevance in the debate...

We argue that it may be inappropriate to study whether high-tech firms are liquidity-constrained, without first modeling their antecedent decision to apply for credit. This sample selection issue is relevant when studying a borrower-lender relationship, as the same factors can influence both the...