Development and validation of the Remote Working Benefits & Disadvantages scale

The changes that are constantly occurring in the labour sector have led organisations and companies to move towards digital transformation. This process was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and  conducted to a massive recourse to the practice of remote working, which in this study is understood as the term for the way of performing work outside the usual workplace and with the support of ICT. Currently, there are no flexible scales in the literature that allow measuring the benefits and disadvantages of remote working with a single instrument. Thus, the distinction between the positive and negative consequences of working remotely, substantiated by a solid literature, provides a framework for a systematical understanding of the issue. The aim of the present study is to develop and validate a scale on remote working benefits and disadvantages (RW-B&D scale). For this end, a preliminary Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with 304 participants, a tailored EFA with a sample of 301 workers and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with 677 workers were conducted. Participants were all Italian employees who worked remotely during the period of the COVID-19 health emergency. Data were collected between October 2020 and April 2021. The psychometric robustness of the model was assessed through bootstrap validation (5000 resamples), fit indices testing and measurement of factorial invariance. The statistical analyses demonstrated the bifactorial nature of the scale, supporting the research hypothesis. The model showed good fit indices, bootstrap validation reported statistically significant saturations, good reliability indices, and convergent and discriminant validity. Measurement invariance was tested for gender and organisational sector. The results suggested that the novel scale facilitates the quantitative measurement of the benefits and disadvantages associated with remote working in empirical terms. For this reason, it could be a streamlined and psychometrically valid instrument to identify the potential difficulties arising from remote working and, at the same time, the positive aspects that can be implemented to improve organisational well-being.

     

Endogenous R&D spillovers and locational choice with discriminatory pricing

We present a model of spatial price discrimination where R&D spillovers are endogenous as they depend on firms' location. We establish that both the distance between locations and R&D efforts are an increasing function of the transportation cost coefficient and show that there is a continuum of cases where firms will choose an intermediate location. The managerial implications from the model are discussed using examples of marketing behavior by Internet retailers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factor vector autoregressive estimation: a new approach

In this paper a new approach to factor vector autoregressive estimation, based on Stock and Watson (Implications of dynamic factor models for VAR analysis, NBER Working Paper, no. 11467, 2005), is introduced. In addition to sharing all the relevant features of the Stock–Watson approach, in its static formulation, the proposed method has the advantage of allowing for a more clear-cut interpretation of the global factors, as well as for the identification of all idiosyncratic shocks. An application to large-scale macroeconometric modelling is also provided. The authors are grateful to an anonymous referee for constructive comments and to MIUR (PRIN project 2005) for financial support.     

Phasing Out Market Mechanisms in the Italian National Health Service

The Italian National Health Service introduced quad-markets, regionalization, and managerialism in the 1990s. Under quasi-markets, large providers have been separated from purchasers and funded by 'activity'—the quantity, mix, and possibly appropriateness of services provided. Under regionalization, each of Italy's 21 regional governments is able to design its own funding arrangements. The regions have generally been trying to mitigate the effects of quasi-markets and are now increasingly 'governing' them. The system is producing some desirable results, including a shift from ordinary to same-day hospitalizations and a reduction in length of stay. Hospital admissions increased initially, but only where the regions encouraged this. Financial effects are more controversial.     

Stock Market Reaction to Regulatory Price Reviews in the English and Welsh Water Industry

In this paper we analyze the effects of regulatory activity—specifically periodic price reviews in the English and Welsh water industry—using information on share price volatility. In controlling for different volatility components we identify and discuss general market, industry and firm idiosyncratic effects. We conclude that stock market investors were favorably disposed towards the outcome of the first, and the early stages of the process leading to the second, periodic review of prices in the industry.     

Network positioning and R&D activity: a study of Italian groups

Traditionally, R&D studies focus on organisational characteristics and internal context factor effects on a firm's R&D activities. This paper extends previous research by analysing firm–level R&D expenditures in the wider context of inter–organisational networks. Using sample of 2002 manufacturing firms in Italy, it provides evidence that R&D intensity is linked to a firm's positioning within an industrial group's hierarchy. Further tests on the antecedents of R&D expenditures are carried out in relation to the effects of firm characteristics and industry factors. Important findings include a significant and positive association between R&D intensity and the firm's size, performance, intangible assets and industry concentration. These findings suggest that, in addition to firm–level factors and its market environment, network resources and organisation may play an important role in driving the intensity of the firm's R&D expenditures.     

商业银行反周期资本缓冲的方法选择

本文提供了设计反周期资本缓冲的一些经验教训和方法选择,主要贡献在于分析了用于指引资本缓冲建立和释放的条件变量。不同反周期资本措施的主要区别在于条件变量是银行特定的还是系统性的,前种方法对特定构成要素的数量要求巨大,相比之下系统性的方法更具优势。作为资本缓冲增加进度和规模信号的最佳变量未必是指引资本缓冲释放时机和程度的最佳变量。信贷/GDP比率是指引建立阶段开始的最好变量,总损失的某种衡量,与信贷条件指标一起,可以很好地发出释放资本的信号。不过,现阶段设计完全以规则为基础的机制不太可能,不同程度的主观判断不可避免。此外,本文还认为,减少最低资本要求的敏感性是可靠的反周期缓冲措施的重要组成部分。在本次金融危机发生之后,反周期资本管理正逐渐引起国内银行业及相关部门的重视,本刊征得作者同意,翻译并发表此文,以期为相关部门资本监管和风险管理提供借鉴。作者及所在机构对译文免责。     

Games with Partially Enforceable Agreements

This paper analyzes games with imperfectly enforceable agreements. It develops a dynamical model in which players are randomly paired into single shot games at each moment. Initially players decide whether to honor an agreement, and then they choose whether to complain to an enforcement agency. The probability of success of a complaint is endogenous; it depends upon whether the defendant breached and upon the aggregate behavior of all players. In the most interesting equilibria of the dynamical system some individuals honor and some individuals complain while others do not, and the net effect of the existence of an enforcement agency is positive.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Number: C72.     

Computing value at risk with high frequency data

We compare the computation of value at risk with daily and with high frequency data for the Deutsche mark–US dollar exchange rate. Among the main points considered in the paper are: (a) the comparison of measures of value at risk on the basis of multi-step volatility forecasts; (b) the computation of the degree of fractional differencing for high frequency data in the context of a Fractionally Integrated Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (FIGARCH) model; and (c) the comparison between deterministic and stochastic models for the filtering of high frequency returns.     

The “Bologna Process” and college enrollment decisions

We use survey data on high school graduates before and after the Italian reform of tertiary education implementing the “Bologna Process” to estimate its impact on college enrollment. Individuals leaving school after the reform have a probability of enrollment that is 15% higher compared to otherwise identical individuals. This increase is concentrated among individuals with good school performance and low parental background. We interpret this result as an indication of the existence of constraints – for good students from less advantaged households – on the optimal schooling decision. We also find a small negative impact of the reform on university drop-out.