Italian university system was reformed in 2001. This paper tests the screening role of degree scores for 2004-Italian graduates. We find support of the strong screening hypothesis for prereform type degrees, while we do not find any evidence of signalling effects for post-reform 3-years degrees....

I employ distribution dynamics techniques to assess labor productivity convergence across Italian regions in the period 1980-2003. In particular, I investigate four different convergence hypotheses, namely: absolute, conditional, neoclassical and technological. Consistently with the majority of...

This paper applies the Dowrick and Rogers (2002) diffusion model to manufacturing sectors, identified by the technological content of their production, as according the taxonomy of Lall (2000b). The aim of the study is disentangling neoclassical from technological convergence, in a panel of 50...

This paper proves that a higher inflation target unanchors expectations, as feared by Fed Chairman Bernanke. It does so both asymptotically, because it shrinks the E-stability region when a central bank follows a Taylor rule, and in the transition phase, because it slows down the speed of...

Mixture models for hazard rate functions are widely used tools for addressing the statistical analysis of survival data subject to a censoring mechanism. The present paper introduces a new class of vectors of random hazard rate functions that are expressed as kernel mixtures of dependent...

Measuring the standards of living is a fundamental concern in economics and particularly in the eld of development. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the most widely accepted measure for a country's economic size and performance, but in recent years the Gross National Income (GNI) has gained...

We derive a New Keynesian Phillips Curve under Calvo staggered pricing and price competition. Firms strategic interactions induce price adjusters to change their prices less when there are more firms that do not adjust. This reduces the slope of the Phillips curve and generates an additional...

We study the effects of real uncertainty on long-run growth under different Taylor-type rules. We fi…nd a non-negligible relationship between real uncertainty and growth, which depends on the source of real uncertainty as well as the type of the Taylor rule considered. Importantly, when...

I consider a NK-DSGE model with endogenous firms' exit and entry together with a monopolistic competitive banking sector, where defaulting firms do not repay loans to banks. I show that the exit margin is an important shock transmission channel. It implies: i) an endogenous countercyclical...

We analyze rehabilitation investments in a regulated water industry with perfectly inelastic demand. We compare alternative organizational solutions for local provision (municipalization, corporatization and privatization), though subject to a common regulatory mechanism. We can then assess the...