Medición de la brecha salarial entre jóvenes con contrato indefinido o temporal. Tres países europeos en perspectiva

Se analizan las diferencias salariales entre trabajadores permanentes y temporales de 25 a 40 años de edad con datos de la Encuesta europea sobre la renta y las condiciones de vida (EU‐SILC) sobre Alemania, Francia e Italia de 2010. Mediante una regresión con función de influencia recentrada y una técnica de reponderación, los autores investigan la contribución de las características personales y del puesto de trabajo a la brecha en toda la distribución salarial. Los resultados indican que el componente no explicado sigue siendo muy grande en Italia en toda la distribución y se debilita en Francia en el tramo superior, mientras que en Alemania no es significativo.     

Path Dependence and Learning from Neighbors

We study the long-run properties of a class of locally interactive learning systems. A finite set of players at fixed locations play a two-by-two symmetric normal form game with strategic complementarities, with one of their “neighbors” selected at random. Because of the endogenous nature of experimentation, or “noise,” the systems we study exhibit a high degree of path dependence. Different actions of a pure coordination game may survive in the long-run at different locations of the system. A reinterpretation of our results shows that the local nature of search may be a robust reason for price dispersion in a search model,Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: C72, D83.     

Disrupting the Disruptors or Enhancing Them? How Blockchain Reshapes Two-Sided Platforms

The importance of platform-based businesses in the modern economy is growing continuously and becoming increasingly relevant. Specifically, the deployment of digital technologies has enhanced the applicability of two-sided business models, enabling companies to act not just as builders and owners of assets, but also as orchestrators of external resources. Management research has, therefore, focused increasingly on the unique aspects of this model. At the center of a two-sided platform there is a platform provider that enables a transaction between the sides, reducing the relative transaction costs. However, in recent years, a new technology emerged that challenges some of the underlying assumptions of this model: the blockchain. Blockchain enables the creation of a peer-to-peer network that is able to authenticate transactions, upon which applications and services may be built. It allows users to conduct transactions without the need for a central platform. We explore how blockchain technology reshapes two-sided platforms, focusing in particular on the role of the platform provider. The research is based upon multiple case studies, using an inductive approach to explore this emerging phenomenon. Our findings show there is a significant shift in the role of the central player that links the two sides of a transaction using blockchain. We frame this as a shift from a “platform provider” to a “service provider,” leveraging the blockchain as a Platform-as-a-Service. Our work examines the peculiarities of this model, unveiling new dynamics in these businesses. Specifically, we show that different variables must be considered to classify two-sided platforms using blockchain. Furthermore, the essential characteristics of two-sided platforms must also be enlarged. For example, traditional platform theories emphasize the importance of cross-side network externalities in creating value. In blockchain-enabled platforms however, we show the use of “tokens” play a key role in creating different types of externalities between the two sides.     

Measuring differences in economic standard of living between immigrant communities in Italy

Measuring differences in the economic standard of living of between natives and other ethnic groups can inform us about the relative disadvantages and inequalities within Italian society. Despite the importance of this question, the measurement of this gap is not an easy task because, when using the usual design-based approach to survey sampling inference, the available micro-data lack sufficient sample size for the majority of immigrant communities needed to obtain reliable estimates. In this paper, we show that small area estimation (SAE) techniques can be applied in a fruitful way to avoid this issue. In particular, we use an approach based on M-quantile regression for estimating the economic standard of living in each community in Italy. Our findings highlight economic disparities between natives and other ethnic groups and suggest the need to adopt specific policies that target the most vulnerable immigrant communities and are designed to improve their economic standard of living.     

Proactive and reactive views in the transition towards circular business models. A grounded study in the plastic packaging industry

This article contributes to the studies on the transition towards circular business models in incumbent entrepreneurial firms. The focus of our research is the plastic packaging industry, a paradigmatic case of firms with a high environmental impact who are currently under pressure to change their business models. Following a grounded theory approach, we conducted an exploratory research on five case studies, longitudinally analyzed over two years. The results of our research suggest that the circularity challenge raises dilemmas about how to interpret the transition to sustainability. On one hand, the transition may be interpreted in a reactive way, based on compliance to the law and the highest possible levels of continuity. On the other hand, the transition may be interpreted in a proactive way, based on radical experimentation and openness to change. Our results highlight that the reactive-proactive dilemma unfolds at three interconnected levels: the firm’s network (including the customers), the entrepreneur, and the organization. Our study also suggests that the entrepreneur is in a position to play a pivotal role in the multi-level adoption of a proactive (or reactive) view. More specifically, our longitudinal analysis suggests that if the effectiveness and impact of transition to circularity is to be maximized, then a multi-level proactive view of the circularity transition is key to transforming the three interconnected levels (network, entrepreneur, organization) into a proper, sustainability-oriented innovation ecosystem.

     

Costing and Pricing in Healthcare Private Firms

This article analyzes the development of an activity-based costing （ABC） system in a private Italian healthcare firm. Findings shed light on the role of the cost accounting system in price assessment： It outlines new opportunities for the identification of the service mix offered as well as for price optimization. Because private companies provide services both within the public system--where the National Health System （NHS） provides fixed reimbursement fees--and within the private system--where prices are defined by each company. Accurate cost information is extremely important to support managers in the analysis of the service mix profitability offered in each system. For the business segment in which companies do not have flexibility in setting prices, cost information enables managers to identify services which may present profitability problems. For the business segment where price flexibility exists, cost information supports the identification of pricing errors so that charges can be better defined.     

Disentangling the migration-trade nexus: the pro-trade effects of immigrants and emigrants in the presence of vertical and horizontal product differentiation

This paper presents an exploration of the migration-trade nexus taking the case of Italy by crossing the two dimensions of migration (immigration and emigration) and the two dimensions of intra-industry trade (vertical and horizontal). This empirical strategy proves useful in refining interpretation of econometric results. In general, we find that both immigration and emigration are positively and significantly related to intra-industry trade. However, the magnitude and the statistical significance of the impact of migration on trade vary, depending on the type of trade flows considered (vertical or horizontal), the direction of migration (immigration or emigration) and the partner countries considered (OECD or non-OECD). In particular, we find that immigrants from non-OECD countries have a positive and significant impact on both ‘variety trade’ and ‘quality trade’, while immigrants from OECD countries significantly affect ‘variety trade’ only. Emigrants to non-OECD countries have positive effect only on ‘variety trade’. These findings are largely consistent with predictions deriving from theoretical models of intra-industry trade and from the literature on migration-trade nexus.     

Supply chain finance: From traditional to supply chain credit rating

Traditional credit rating models, adopted by financial institutions to assess the credit risk of a company, adopt a purely financial perspective, and often fail to properly assess small and medium enterprises. On the other hand, buyers usually assess suppliers by means of comprehensive vendor ratings, considering a broad range of operational performance. This paper investigates whether financial and vendor ratings can be integrated into a supply chain credit rating model that jointly considers financial indicators of the supplier and its operational evaluation provided by buyers; the paper also investigates the benefits and the challenges of such a model for all the stakeholders involved (buyers, suppliers, financial institutions, and technology providers), adopting the lenses of the stakeholder theory. We adopted both multiple case studies and an iterative focus group, involving representatives from suppliers, buyers, financial institutions, and technology providers. The results confirm the potential value of such an integrated rating, mainly for strategic suppliers, showing the expected benefits for all stakeholders and highlighting the potential challenges to face.     

Crowdfunding tax incentives in Europe: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

Some European countries offer tax incentive schemes to investors and companies in crowdfunding. On one hand, they could be seen as a tool to reduce the system’s dependence on banks and increase the availability of credit for start-ups and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). On the other hand, there is the counterweight of disadvantages that investors may face by investing in crowdfunding (i.e. complex and incomplete laws, and weak protection). This paper is primarily intended as a primer on the use of tax incentives for crowdfunding in Europe. In this study, we first examine the implementation of tax incentive schemes in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium. Then, we analyse and compare the characteristics of such schemes along three dimensions: the incentives structure; the business characteristics; and the type of investor. We find that tax incentive schemes for crowdfunding vary widely in their form and other features of their design. Moreover, the most used forms of tax incentives are those that provide for an up-front tax credit on the amount invested in early-stage ventures. These incentives have an immediate effect on the annual income tax of the investor. A central implication is that the more tax incentive schemes are properly designed and tailored for crowdfunders, the more investors, start-ups and other firms with low liquidity could use crowdfunding as a source of funding.     

Assessing the Impact of Direct Payments Convergence on Farm Income Inequality: The Case of Italian Farms

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of the convergence process of direct payments (DPs) on farm income inequality. The analysis uses the Gini coefficient concept and its decomposition on the FADN Italian sample in 2014 and 2019 to assess the impact of the DPs reform in Italy. Results of the analysis show that a marginal increase in direct payments will reduce income concentration. However, a shift of resources toward mountain areas could occur. The results of the analysis have some policy implications regarding the application of the convergence mechanism of the CAP in Italy: in fact, the convergence process leads to a redistribution of resources in favour of mountain areas. These results could feed the debate on the future of CAP direct payments after 2020, when the cut or, at least, the reduction of DPs could increase income concentration.