The aim of this work is to identify the existence of spatial spillover and spatial heterogeneity in local government efficiency, by using data from a newly constructed database about 341 municipalities from the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. The methodology is based on a two-step procedure. In...

The paper concerns production process innovation in an existing hybrid governance form. Adopting a Transaction Cost Economics perspective, we consider process innovation here in the conceptual context of the organization of production and technological change. It is assumed that the determinants...

The paper aims to study individual contributions to income inequality. The role of individual positions in the analysis of inequality is considered at various levels. The utility of inequality analysis in analysing the variation across a given income distribution is also recognised. The paper...

This study focuses on the technical and economic efficiency achieved in two local public service sectors: pharmaceutical services and integrated waste services. In the first study we also took in account the social dimension of the service as the health corner, the CUP service (e.g. Useful to...

This paper investigates the degree of integration among markets using wholesale electricity prices. The reason arises from the link between the long-run dynamic of fuel prices and electricity prices. We address the question of whether European electricity markets have experienced convergence...

In this chapter we argue that a strong effort toward new technologies and investments can allow us to sustain economic growth without endangering the environment. We define this effort toward a new sustainable paradigm as consisting of a mix of renewable sources, energy efficiency, and energy...

Purpose – The aim of this study is to the test the hypothesis that a network involved in the division of labor can contribute to individual skills creation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is divided into two parts. First, it proposes and examines the fundamental of the hypothesis....

The ban of using Antimicrobic Growth Promoters (AGPs) in poultry sector has been recently introduced by European Union norms. This innovation of the institutional environment is really influential upon the technology in use. The study conceptualizes the poultry industry in terms of technological...

In this paper we investigate wholesale electricity prices integration process in the main European markets. After reforms introduced in the last decades in Europe, wholesale electricity prices are now determined in regulated markets. However, while market institutional frameworks show several...