In this paper we test the existence of rational habit formation in a multivariate model for alcohol and tobacco consumption. The theoretical framework, based on a dynamic adjustment cost model with forward-looking behaviour, is enhanced to include the intertemporal interactions between the two...

Redistribution schemes (taxes or benefits) are generally performed at the household level. The issue is to know whether intra-household inequality magnifies or hampers the redistributive effect of the transfers, when the policy-maker focuses on the inequality at the individual level. Depending...

Ad oltre dieci anni dalla prima direttiva europea e mentre il mercato finale è arrivato alla sua apertura totale il bilancio delle liberalizzazioni sul piatto della concorrenza e della regolamentazione non è esaltante. Le Autorità incaricate di promuovere la concorrenza nei momenti cruciali...

During the last thirty years health care expenditure (HCE) has been growing much more rapidly than GDP in all OECD countries posing increasing concern on the long-term sustainability of current trends. Against this background, we look at the determinants of HCE in European countries, explicitly...

This paper aims at characterizing the dynamics of R&D competition within the pharmaceutical domain, focusing on the role of patent disclosure, the extent of uncertainty, and role of scientific advances. Following the empirical literature in the economics of innovation, we employ patents as a...

The paper designs an optimal payment system for a group of producers implementing it empirically. It shows how to implement the first best through higher prices for better quality commodities, deriving the optimal pricing schedule. It also takes into account producers' heterogeneity by modelling...

During the last thirty years health care expenditure (HCE) has been growing much more rapidly than GDP in all OECD countries posing increasing concern on the long-term sustainability of current trends. Against this background, we look at the determinants of HCE in European countries, explicitly...

In questo lavoro si investiga il nesso finanza-crescita aggregata in Italia nel periodo 1965-2002. Dopo una breve rassegna della letteratura teorico-empirica, il lavoro riporta i risultati di una indagine basata su regressioni di crescita in cui fattori come il tasso di investimento, il grado di...

In this paper we address the topic of guessing games. By developing a generalised theory of naïveté, we show how Güth et al..s result (i.e. convergence toward interior equilibria is faster than convergence toward boundary equilibria) is compatible with Nagel.s theory of boundedly rational...

Theory absorption, a notion introduced by Morgenstern and Schwödiauer (1972) and further elaborated by Güth and Kliemt (2004), discusses the problem whether a theory can survive its own acceptance. Whereas this holds for strategic equilibria according to the assumptions on which they are...