Do Not Trash the Incentive! Monetary Incentives and Waste Sorting

In this paper, we examine whether combining non‐monetary and monetary incentives increases municipal solid waste sorting. We empirically investigate this issue, exploiting the exogenous variation in waste management policies experienced during the years 1999–2008 by the 95 municipalities in the district of Treviso (Italy). Using a panel regression analysis, we estimate that pay‐as‐you‐throw (PAYT) incentive schemes increase the sorted‐to‐total waste ratio by 17 percent, and that their effect reinforces that of a door‐to‐door (DtD) collection system, which is equal to 15.7 percent. Moreover, the panel structure of our dataset allows us to find learning and spatial effects associated with both PAYT and DtD.     

Integrating agency and resource dependence theory: Firm profitability,industry regulation,and board task performance

Boards of directors are key governance mechanisms in organizations and fulfill two main tasks: monitoring managers and firm performance, and providing advice and access to resources. In spite of a wealth of research much remains unknown about how boards attend to the two tasks. This study investigates whether organizational (firm profitability) and environmental factors (industry regulation) affect board task performance. The data combine CEOs' responses to a questionnaire, and archival data from a sample of large Italian firms. Findings show that past firm performance is negatively associated with board monitoring and advice tasks; greater industry regulation enhances perceived board task performance; board monitoring and advice tasks tend to reinforce each other, despite their theoretical and practical distinction.     

Foreign direct investment and firm performance: an empirical analysis of Italian firms

Both empirical and theoretical literature show that multinational firms exhibit a competitive advantage before investing abroad. However, there are no clear empirical results regarding the ex post effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on firm performance, partially due to the inadequacy of available firm-level data. We build a brand new firm-level dataset able both to represent the extent of Italian firms’ foreign activity and to provide reliable measures of key performance indicators, especially total factor productivity (TFP) and employment. We then use a propensity score matching procedure to analyze the causal relationship between FDI and firm performance. Firms investing abroad for the very first time, especially in advanced economies, show higher productivity and employment dynamics in the years following the investment: the average positive effect on TFP is driven by new multinationals operating in specialized and high-tech sectors, while the positive employment gains are explained by an increase of the white collar component. On average there are no negative effects on the parent firm’s blue collar component.     

Hierarchical models for independence structures of networks

We introduce a new family of network models, called hierarchical network models, that allow us to represent in an explicit manner the stochastic dependence among the dyads (random ties) of the network. In particular, each member of this family can be associated with a graphical model defining conditional independence clauses among the dyads of the network, called the dependency graph. Every network model with dyadic independence assumption can be generalized to construct members of this new family. Using this new framework, we generalize the Erdös–Rényi and the β models to create hierarchical Erdös–Rényi and β models. We describe various methods for parameter estimation, as well as simulation studies for models with sparse dependency graphs.     

Josef Steindl's relations to Italian economics ∗

The paper discusses Steindl's impact on Italian economists, both through his writings and through direct personal influence. Three representative Italian economists are considered: Sylos Labini, Becattini and Salvati. This provides the opportunity for a cursory discussion of some aspects of Steindl's theory of stagnation and market forms, of his methodology, of post-Keynesian distribution theory. The limits of this latter theory are discussed with reference to the Smithian ‘competition of capitals’ and the Sraffian assumption of a uniform rate of profits; a possible reconciliation between the post-Keynesian and Sraffian approaches to distribution is then sketched. Steindl's role in the Trieste School for advanced economic studies is also briefly illustrated.     

The decision to invest in a low-wage country: Evidence from Italian textiles and clothing multinationals

In this paper we investigate the firm-specific factors that account for the decision to invest in low-wage countries on the part of Italian firms in the textiles and clothing sector. This analysis is motivated by the fact that our survey data show, between 1990 and 1997, a decline of average employment in parent companies, while that in subsidiaries grew substantially. However, correlation and regression analysis show that employment in parent companies that invested in low-wage countries only seems to be negatively related with employment abroad. Our hypothesis is that investments in cheap labour countries are mainly cost-driven and are undertaken by firms that focus on a low-quality, low-cost strategy. We test this hypothesis through a probit analysis. The evidence suggests that investments to cheap labour countries are more likely to be of a vertical type, being relatively more labour-intensive compared with the parent company. Our hypothesis seems to be confirmed empirically. Investments in low-wage countries are more likely to generate abundant intra-firm trade and to be undertaken by firms with low shares of skilled employment.     

Incentivizing Vegetable Consumption in School-Aged Children: Evidence from a Field Experiment

We conducted a field experiment to test the effect of nonmonetary incentives in increasing children's vegetable consumption during lunch at school. We measured children's daily vegetable consumption for four consecutive weeks prior to the provision of incentives, for four consecutive weeks during the incentive provision, and for three consecutive weeks right after the provision of incentives. To check the longer-term effect of the incentive provision, we measured children's daily vegetable consumption 11 weeks after the postintervention period. Results suggest that the incentives are effective in increasing vegetable consumption and that this effect persisted several weeks after the provision of the incentives ended. This is an important topic since gaining a better understanding of effects of nonmonetary incentives can help in the design of nutrition and health policies aimed at improving the dietary behavior of children and potentially reducing childhood obesity.     

An Overview of the Italian Hotel Industry Today

This study aims to describe how the Italian hotel industry is improving its competitiveness in the globalized economy in terms of innovation and supplementary services delivered to the customers. Innovation (as implementation of new technologies) and supplementary services represent the driver for the Italian hotel industry to increase the creation of value and to become more competitive in the international arena. This study serves as an initial first step as a pilot for a more comprehensive and larger study of the Italian hotel industry down the road.     

The Impact of Corporate Governance Press News on Stock Market Returns

Stock market prices reflect information regarding firms’ business environments, operations and, in general, their fundamentals. Recently, various studies have analysed the link between news coverage and stock prices but no evidence exists on how channels and ways of communication of information affect investors’ behaviour. We analyses these aspects focussing on a large sample of corporate governance news published between 2003 and 2007 in ‘Il Sole 24 Ore’, Italy's major financial newspaper. We show that before news is made public investors are only able to assess the type of corporate governance event underlying it. After publication, investors are influenced by the content (positive or negative) and the tone of communication (strong or weak) of the news.