1,720,966 research outputs found
Regional Knowledge Performance in Europe
No full textEurope's 2020 strategy and the consequent initiative “Innovation Union” call for a particular attention to the territorial dimension of innovation and knowledge creation. To this end, this paper investigates the nature of knowledge production and diffusion among regions in 29 European Union (EU) countries and tries to assess its effectiveness. Data envelopment analysis is thus applied to assess how efficiently European regions use internal and external inputs for the production of new knowledge and ideas. The analysis produces a ranking of the innovative performance of EU regions for two points in time: the beginning of the current century and the second part of this decade. This ranking is then evaluated through the Malmquist productivity index in order to assess the relative importance of its main components. The Data envelopment analysis provides further evidence of a dualistic (centre versus periphery) pattern in the regional innovation activities, with the most efficient territories located in the most central or economically strategic areas of the continent. The application of the Malmquist productivity index shows that both the magnitude and intrinsic features of the productivity dynamics are extremely differentiated across regions. Again, we observe important differences between the core and periphery of Europe and, more specifically, between the rich and industrialized countries that form the so-called “Old Europe” and the relatively poorer ones that have entered the EU quite recently
Employment Subsidies, Informal Economy and Women's Transition into Work in a Depressed Area: Evidence from a Matching Approach
No full textWe analyse the effects of an active labour market program for disadvantaged workers recently implemented in an Italian depressed area. Our sample includes 859 workers, mostly women, who entered the program before April 2008 and were subsequently interviewed in 2009-10. We complement the existing administrative data with survey data that enables us to control for numerous individual and labour market characteristics for both treated and non-treated individuals. Using propensity-score matching methods, we do find that the employment subsidy had a positive and significant effect (ATT) on both the probability of finding a job for participants and on their level of income. We also control for effect heterogeneity and find that the outcome of the policy was higher for women and, among them, we also find that the program was more effective on less educated and older female workers. Finally, we exploit unique information on previous contacts between workers and firms and on the use of informal channels for job search activity to explore the role of underground employment relations for the effectiveness of the policy
Employment Subsidies, Informal Economy and Women's Transition into Work in a Depressed Area: Evidence from a Matching Approach
Full text linkWe analyze the effects of an ALMP for disadvantaged workers implemented in a depressed area of Italy. Using propensity-score matching, we find that a) the employment subsidy had a positive effect for participants on both the probability of finding a job and income, b) the outcome of the policy was more positive for women, and c) the program was more effective for older and less-educated female workers. Using data on previous contacts between workers and firms and on informal channels for job search activity, we ultimately explore the role of the program in promoting the transition from informal to salaried employment
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