Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Bocconi
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How do electricity TSOs embrace innovation to future-proof their role in the energy transition?
Get PDFAccess to electricity is the lifeblood of modern society. Electricity grids are undergoing transformative changes,
driven mainly by decarbonization, decentralization and the integration of variable renewables. Transmission
System Operators (TSOs) face increasing pressures from these changes, yet the scale and pace of innovation
required to overcome them remain largely unexplored. This study uses interviews with innovation leaders at 11
European TSOs to investigate their approaches to managing the energy transition, focusing on innovation
strategies, technology adoption, and future visions. We find that many TSOs adopt decentralized innovation
strategies, involving business lines in defining innovation needs and exploring digital and grid technologies to
improve efficiency and flexibility. TSOs are using cross-sector collaborations with various decision-making and
benchmarking tools to improve performance and better manage emerging technologies like non-wires alternatives. While TSOs seek to adopt new technologies, regulatory constraints, excessive bureaucracy, technology
immaturity, skills gaps, and organizational cultural inertia are raised as key barriers. We argue that proactive
engagement in innovation, supported by collaboration and regulatory changes could improve TSO resilience and
agility. We highlight the importance of integrating innovation into the core strategy of TSOs and the critical need
to modernize regulatory frameworks, originally designed for a very different historical context, to eliminate
outdated constraints and enable TSOs to more effectively future-proof their organizations
Quick buys for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases
No full textDespite their established effectiveness, uptake of the WHO best buys for tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been uneven and disappointing. Here we introduce the “quick buys”, an evidence-based set of cost-effective interventions with measurable public health impacts within five years. We reviewed 49 interventions previously established as cost-effective (<$I20,000 per disability-adjusted life-year averted) to identify the earliest possible detectable effect on high-level population health targets. Using a strict evidence hierarchy, including Cochrane and systematic reviews, we estimated the effects of each intervention against global targets agreed upon by countries. Quick buys were defined as those interventions that could exhibit measurable effects within 5 years, aligning with average electoral cycles in across the WHO European Region. Of the 49 interventions, 25 qualified as quick buys, including those relating to tobacco (n = 5), alcohol (n = 4), unhealthy diet (n = 3), physical inactivity (n = 1), cardiovascular disease (n = 3), diabetes (n = 4), chronic respiratory disease (n = 1), and cancer (n = 4). These findings not only offer guidance to policymakers deciding on interventions that align with short-term political cycles but also have the potential to accelerate progress to global health targets, particularly the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature NCD mortality by one-third
Generation Z consumers’ perspective: how and why should (not) brands engage in activism?
No full textResearch on brand activism has proliferated recently, yet consumer responses remain unpredictable, particularly among Generation Z, whose reactions and motivations are not yet fully understood. This cohort is highly sensitive to socio-political issues but exhibits mixed responses to companies’ social roles. This research explores Gen Z’s reactions to brand activism employing two qualitative methods: a focus group and in-depth interviews. Findings show that Gen Z consumers are not passive recipients but assess brand activism critically. For them, brand activism is not a mass-market strategy but an élite approach; activist brands should embody specific characteristics and implement activism rigorously and meticulously. Specifically, Gen Z views brand history, consistency in values, and tangible actions as essential for authentic activism. However, their responses are often mixed: many feel confused or disengaged, questioning brands’ new political roles, and sometimes stating that they should stay out of activism altogether. This study contributes to the consumer-brand relationship literature by highlighting the extensive range of elements young consumers consider when evaluating the integrity of activist brands. Moreover, this research offers valuable implications, new critical perspectives, and key factors for brands to consider when adopting activist strategies
Exact full-RSB SAT/UNSAT transition in infinitely wide two-layer neural networks
No full textWe analyze the problem of storing random pattern-label associations using two classes of continuous non-convex weights models, namely the perceptron with negative margin and an infinite-width two-layer neural network with non-overlapping receptive fields and generic activation function. Using a full-RSB Ansatz we compute the exact value of the SAT/UNSAT transition. Furthermore, in the case of the negative perceptron we show that the overlap distribution of typical states displays an overlap gap (a disconnected support) in certain regions of the phase diagram defined by the value of the margin and the density of patterns to be stored. This implies that some recent theorems that ensure convergence of Approximate Message Passing (AMP) based algorithms to capacity are not applicable. Finally, we show that Gradient Descent is not able to reach the maximal capacity, irrespectively of the presence of an overlap gap for typical states. This finding, similarly to what occurs in binary weight models, suggests that gradient-based algorithms are biased towards highly atypical states, whose inaccessibility determines the algorithmic threshold
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on professionalism in organizations: a literature review
No full textL'articolo presenta una review della letteratura sull'impatto dell'AI sull'identità dei professionist
The European Commission's draft guidelines on exclusionary abuses: a law and economics critique and recommendations.
Get PDFWe welcome the prospect of Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU and endorse the stated aims of the Draft Guidelines (ie, enhancing legal certainty, helping undertakings to self-assess, and guiding the National Courts and National Competition Authorities). From an economics perspective, we also welcome the possible use of rebuttable presumptions for certain practices, but not for others (eg, tying). Further, the approach of the Draft Guidelines to presumptions seems to imply a reversal of the burden of proof, which the EU Courts might arguably not accept. The Draft Guidelines move away from an economic, effects-based approach and do not fully acknowledge or embrace the modern legal approach of the EU Courts to Article 102 TFEU and lack clarity in many respects. Consequently, the Draft Guidelines offer limited guidance. The Draft Guidelines can be improved by: connecting the concept of ‘competition on the merits’ to harm to consumers; incorporating central concepts such as ‘theory of harm’; paying more than mere lip service to the ‘as efficient competitor’ principle; introducing safe harbours; and, offering clarifications on the scope of certain presumptions and their rebuttal
Essays on Environmental and Energy Challenges
Get PDFEnvironmental and energy challenges are some of the most pressing issues worldwide, affecting both human well-being and the planet's future. This thesis focuses on key environmental and energy challenges faced by Europe and the United States, examining their impacts on health, public opinion, and regional economies.
The first chapter studies the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19. It finds evidence of a significant link between higher levels of air pollution and the incidence, spread, and mortality of COVID-19. This chapter provides important insights for the relationship between the largest worldwide environmental health risk factor and the most severe pandemic in recent history, to understand the health implications of air pollution in the context of pandemics.
The second and third chapters explore how energy prices influence public support for climate and energy policies. One chapter focuses on how gasoline prices shape public attitudes toward climate policies, while the other examines how the energy crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine has impacted public attitudes toward the energy transition. Both chapters investigate how socio-demographic factors shape these dynamics.
The final chapter analyzes the regional distributional impacts of the clean energy transition by assessing the economic and labor effects of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This chapter highlights how environmental policies influence regional economic performance and labor market outcomes.
By addressing these interconnected issues, this thesis contributes to understanding the challenges of designing environmental and energy policies that are effective, acceptable, and equitable
When social innovations foster integral human development: evidence from the impact of theatrical activities on prison inmates’ social skills
No full textWe build on scholarly work on social innovation and social psychology to contribute to research on integral human development. This research stream builds on the ethical principles of virtue ethics and humanistic personalism to claim that organizations have the role of helping individuals develop through meaningful interaction with others. It also implicitly assumes that any initiative aimed at achieving this purpose and developing the relational dimension of marginalized individuals will have a homogenous and positive impact. We test this assumption by investigating the impact of a social innovation introduced by Opera Prison for inmates, who are a particularly marginalized category. The social innovation we study takes the form of novel theatrical activities that aim at fostering inmates’ social skills—that is, the cognitive and interpersonal abilities that are required for engaging in positive interpersonal interactions. Because participation in theatrical activities is not exogenous in our setting, we adopt an instrumental variable technique to analyze 396 questionnaires from a random sample of 178 inmates. In contrast to the assumption of integral human development, we find that engagement in theatrical activities has a heterogeneous effect, depending on the specific social skills considered and the characteristics of the inmates involved. Based on this evidence, we contribute to problematizing research on integral human development, virtue ethics, and humanistic personalism and imparting it with greater empirical traction. We also advance research on social innovations by clarifying the blurry relationship between social innovations and social impact