The impossibility of compromise: some uniqueness properties of expected utility preferences

Summary. We focus on the following uniqueness property of expected utility preferences: Agreement of two preferences on one interior indifference class implies their equality. We show that, besides expected utility preferences under (objective) risk, this uniqueness property holds for subjective expected utility preferences in Anscombe-Aumann's (partially subjective) and Savage's (fully subjective) settings, while it does not hold for subjective expected utility preferences in settings without rich state spaces. Indeed, when it holds the uniqueness property is even stronger than described above, as it needs only agreement on binary acts. The extension of the uniqueness property to the subjective case is possible because beliefs in the mentioned settings are shown to satisfy an analogous property: If two decision makers agree on a likelihood indifference class, they must have identical beliefs. Received: November 15, 1999; revised version: December 29, 1999     

Asymmetric Reaction Functions for the Euro Area

This paper offers a preliminary evaluation of ECB conduct ofmonetary policy by estimating a fairly general reaction functionfor the euro area. The specification of the policy rule embodiesa number of nonlinearities which are shown to stem from asymmetricpreferences and a convex aggregate supply curve. Asymmetricpreferences allow, but do not require, policy-makers to weightdifferently positive and negative deviations of inflation andoutput from the reference values, and translate into an asymmetricreaction function. The empirical analysis on monthly euro-areaaggregated data over the last 5 years reveals that ECB monetarypolicy is effectively described by a nonlinear policy rule accordingto which output contractions have required a larger policy responsethan output expansions. Moreover, actual movements in the eurointerest rate closely resemble the simulated path that a Bundesbank-typeof behaviour would have implied.     

“GATT‐think” with Asymmetric Countries*

We argue that a trade agreement which conforms to GATT’s reciprocity rule benefits the (stronger) less trade‐dependent country at the expense of the (weaker) more trade‐dependent country. Reciprocity is so unfavorable to the weaker country that it may be worse off under reciprocity than under the Nash‐ bargaining solution, a “power‐based” approach to trade negotiations that reflects power asymmetries among trading partners. Our results question Bagwell and Staiger’s (1999 , 2000 ) view of reciprocity as a rule that “serves to mitigate the influence of power asymmetries on negotiated outcomes.”     

Small firms and technological development in the food processing machinery industry: The case of pasta and other cereal derivative machines in Italy

This study about Italian producers of machines and plants for pasta, basic cereals, snacks and bread factories attempts to shed some light on the role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Italian industry. Even if the high diffusion of SMEs has positively affected the performance of Italian economy during the seventies and the eighties, the new trends of technological change and global competition are expected to be unfavourable to this category of enterprises in the nineties. The analyses of a significant sample of firms makes clear that the industry is in the middle of a positive restructuring process. The structure of this sector shows a division of labour based on deverticalization of production, and a process of internationalization focused on exports and not on direct investments or joint ventures abroad. Leading firms are following growth strategies by new investments and acquisitions. Finally, as far as technological change is concerned, there is a significant increase of process innovations, thanks to the use of electronic components.An earlier release of this paper was presented at 7th EARIE (European Association for Research in Industrial Economics) Annual Conference in Lisbon, September 2–4 1990. We thank all the participants for their comments and suggestions, in particular P. Dunne.     

The emergence of the Euro-company: towards a European industrial relations?

The growth of European-scale companies represents a further centralisation of management organisation in large enterprises. But processes of decentralisation are also evident. Implications of these opposing trends for labour relations are unclear. Taking account of differences between national systems, the article considers two paths that management approaches could follow.     

Structural comparisons of networks and model-based detection of small-worldness

In this paper, we consider the problem of assessing the “level of small-worldness” of a graph and of detecting small-worldness features in real networks. After discussing the limitations of classical approaches, based on the computation of network indicators, we propose a new procedure, which involves the comparison of network structures at different “observation scales”. This allows small-world features to be caught, even if “hidden” deeply into the network structure. Applications of the procedure to both simulated and real data show the effectiveness of the proposal, also in distinguishing between different small-world models and in detecting emerging small-worldness in dynamical networks.     

Trade networks and economic fluctuations in Asian countries

The paper presents a new methodology, based on tensor decomposition, to map dynamic trade networks and to assess its strength in forecasting economic fluctuations at different periods of time in Asia. Using the monthly merchandise import and export data across 33 Asian economies, together with the US, EU and UK, we detect the community structure of the evolving network and we identify clusters and central nodes inside each of them. Our findings show that data are well represented by two communities, in which People's Republic of China and Japan play the major role. We then analyze the synchronisation between GDP growth and trade. Furthermore we apply our model to the prediction of economic fluctuations. Our findings show that the model leads to an increase in predictive accuracy, as higher order interactions between countries are taken into account.     

Discrimination,technology and unemployment

I study the interaction between discrimination and investment using a directed search model where firms decide the capital intensity of their production technologies before being matched. Discrimination makes some workers cheap to hire. As a consequence, some firms might save on capital costs adopting labour intensive technologies. This framework allows one to reconcile search models with three well-known facts regarding the labour market outcomes of minority workers: low wages, high unemployment and occupational segregation. Furthermore, the model questions the role of equal pay legislation in reducing inequality since removing this restriction, i.e., allowing firms to post type-contingent wages, eliminates the negative effects of discrimination on investment and wages.     

Productivity,innovation strategies and industrial relations in SMEs. Empirical evidence for a local production system in northern Italy

The paper aims to provide an original contribution to evaluating several kinds of relations between four areas of innovation activities – training, technology, organization, ICT (information and communication technologies) – and industrial relations and firm’s economic performance. Quantitative evidence for a SME‐based local production system is provided by exploiting two datasets: the first is derived from a direct survey carried out in 2005 collecting data on innovations, labour flexibility and industrial relations; the second is represented by a panel of official balance sheets data for the period 1998–2004. The analysis is divided in two consequential parts. We first examine the drivers of different innovation strategies and subsequently we exploit innovation indicators as potential drivers of firm’s productivity. The results show that training activities and organizational changes have strong links with many industrial relations indicators, thus emerging as industrial relations driven innovations. On the contrary, ICT and technological innovation seem to be more influenced by firms’ past performances than by industrial relations. The analysis on labour productivity drivers shows that training activities are the most relevant factors; then, ranked consequently, technological innovation, organisational innovations and, finally, ICT also appear to impact on productivity levels. It is worth noting that the role of ICT emerges more robustly when endogeneity is specifically addressed. Finally, the role of firm size seems here to be overshadowed by other drivers.