130,574 research outputs found
“Italian Economists of the 20th Century”, edited by Ferdinando Meacci, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1998
No full textThis book contains twelve essays on some important Italian economists whose works were mostly published in the 20th century. The essays are written mostlty by non-Italian authors and deal with Vilfredo Pareto (by A. Kirman), Maffeo Pantaleoni (Peter Groenewegen), Enrico Barone (P. C. Dooley), Antonio De Viti de Marco (O. Kayaalp), Marco Fanno (R. Arena), Costantino Bresciani-Turroni (H. D. Kurz), Luigi Einaudi (F. Meacci), Piero Sraffa (B. Schefold), Franco Modigliani (C. Dangel), Paolo Sylos Labini (J. Halevi), Pierangelo Garegnani (G. Mongiovi), and L. Luigi Pasinetti (J. R. Teixeira). A short introduction by Ferdinando Meacci opens the volume and advances a suggestive hypothesis for a comprehensive interpretation of the evolution of Italian economic thought during the last century. This introduction is an attempt to treat the thoughts of the twelve economists as a sample from which to infer a brief outline of Italian economics in the 20th century and of its links with economics in general. This outline is sketched in two glimpses. One looks at the economists one after the other according to the period in which they lived (and is accordingly called ‘vertical’). The other looks at them one next to the other according to the methods they have in common (and is accordingly called ‘horizontal’).Italian economists, history of economics, vertical and horizontal
“Italian Economists of the 20th Century”, edited by Ferdinando Meacci, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 1998
No full textThis book contains twelve essays on some important Italian economists whose works were mostly published in the 20th century. The essays are written mostlty by non-Italian authors and deal with Vilfredo Pareto (by A. Kirman), Maffeo Pantaleoni (Peter Groenewegen), Enrico Barone (P. C. Dooley), Antonio De Viti de Marco (O. Kayaalp), Marco Fanno (R. Arena), Costantino Bresciani-Turroni (H. D. Kurz), Luigi Einaudi (F. Meacci), Piero Sraffa (B. Schefold), Franco Modigliani (C. Dangel), Paolo Sylos Labini (J. Halevi), Pierangelo Garegnani (G. Mongiovi), and L. Luigi Pasinetti (J. R. Teixeira). A short introduction by Ferdinando Meacci opens the volume and advances a suggestive hypothesis for a comprehensive interpretation of the evolution of Italian economic thought during the last century. This introduction is an attempt to treat the thoughts of the twelve economists as a sample from which to infer a brief outline of Italian economics in the 20th century and of its links with economics in general. This outline is sketched in two glimpses. One looks at the economists one after the other according to the period in which they lived (and is accordingly called ‘vertical’). The other looks at them one next to the other according to the methods they have in common (and is accordingly called ‘horizontal’)
Hysteresis and the Reaction to the Expectations-augmented Phillips Curve. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Associazione Italiana per la Storia dell'Economia Politica (STOREP), Lecce, 1-3 giugno 2006; and at the Annual Meeting of the Associazione Italiana per la Storia del Pensiero Economico (AISPE), Padova, 15-17 giugno 2006
No full textVitamin D and Sphingolipids: Role in Bone and Neural System
No full text1-Alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) is known to play an important physiological
role on growth and differentiation in a variety of nonmalignant and malignant cell
types through classical actions, mediated by its specific receptor (VDR), and nongenomic
actions resulting in the activation of specific signalling pathways. Due to the broad distribution
of Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) in many tissues and the ability of 1,25(OH)2D3 to
regulate fundamental processes, such as cell proliferation and differentiation, this steroid
hormone has been suggested in the treatment of different diseases, from cancer to neurodegenerative
diseases. In fact, structural 1,25(OH)2D3 analogues, with weaker collateral
effects, have recently entered in clinical trials. Other interesting molecules due to their
pleiotropic actions are the bioactive sphingolipids (SLs), in particular ceramide (Cer) and
sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P). Cells maintain a dynamic balance of these metabolites
since Cer and sphingoid bases mediate cell death, while S1P exerts mitogenic effects and
promotes differentiation of several cell types including osteogenic and neural cells. The
biological actions of 1,25(OH)2D3 and SLs, in particular S1P, share many common effectors,
including calcium regulation, growth factor expression, inflammatory cytokines,
etc., but whether they could act synergistically is still unknown and deserves further
investigation
On Working and Circulating Capital
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the terms “working” and “circulating” capital are two different terms for the same concept; or whether they should be considered two different terms for two different concepts. This purpose will be carried out in two steps. The first is devoted to an investigation of the use of the term “working” by the German economist Lowe (The Path of Economic Growth) and by some Austrian economists (Menger, Böhm-Bawerk, Hayek). The second is devoted to Keynes (A Treatise on Money). At the end of each step an assessment is made of the use of this term by these economists with an extension to the relationship between Lowe’s and Keynes’s treatment of their notion of working capital and two preceding streams of thought. These relationships run between Lowe and the Austrians, in the first case; and between Keynes and the classics (in Marx's sense), in the second. These assessments will eventually converge towards the conclusion that the terms “circulating” and “working” capital are not two different terms for the same notion; and that these two notions are different because they belong to two different theories and require two different methods. The paper argues that the two theories are the classical theory of reproduction and the modern theory of fluctuations as a special branch of the modern theory of production; while the two methods are the method of vertical integration and the method of horizontal integration. The identification of these theories and methods will be pursued more keenly than the differentiation of the two notions of “working” and “circulating” capital in that the aim of this paper is not to resort to the “bestiary” of our subject as if it were a “taxonomy”, let alone to the “taxonomy” as if it were a “machine” (see Shackle: The Years of High Theory, 1967, p.293).Circulating and working capital, reproduction and production, Lowe, Keynes, Austrians
MeSH term explosion and author rank improve expert recommendations
No full textInformation overload is an often-cited phenomenon that reduces the productivity, efficiency and efficacy of scientists. One challenge for scientists is to find appropriate collaborators in their research. The literature describes various solutions to the problem of expertise location, but most current approaches do not appear to be very suitable for expert recommendations in biomedical research. In this study, we present the development and initial evaluation of a vector space model-based algorithm to calculate researcher similarity using four inputs: 1) MeSH terms of publications; 2) MeSH terms and author rank; 3) exploded MeSH terms; and 4) exploded MeSH terms and author rank. We developed and evaluated the algorithm using a data set of 17,525 authors and their 22,542 papers. On average, our algorithms correctly predicted 2.5 of the top 5/10 coauthors of individual scientists. Exploded MeSH and author rank outperformed all other algorithms in accuracy, followed closely by MeSH and author rank. Our results show that the accuracy of MeSH term-based matching can be enhanced with other metadata such as author rank
Fictitious Capital and Crises
No full textThis paper is concerned with chapters 25-35 of Part V, The Division of Profit into Interest and Profit of Enterprise, of Volume 3 of Capital. These chapters may be properly grouped in an ideal Part to be possibly titled "Credit and Crises, or Money Capital and Fictitious Capital" and is referred to in this paper as 'the unidentified Part'. This Part should be strictly considered as a follow-up of Part IV, The Transformation of Commodity Capital and Money Capital into Commodity-Dealing Capital and Money-Dealing Capital (Merchant's Capital) in the sense that while the former deals with the role played by merchant's capital, and particularly by money-dealing capital, the latter deals with the obstruction or perversion inflicted on this role by money capital being turned into fictitious capital by an improper use of credit. The paper is structured in three ideal sections. The aim of the first section is to clear the debris of 'the unidentified Part' and to reconstruct Marx's own thinking about the nature and role of credit and of fictitious capital in relation to the concept of merchant's capital and to the phenomenon of crises. On the contrary, the second section, which is mostly focused on different forms versus different sets of crises, highlights some contradictions in Marx's unsystematic treatment of the relations between financial and real crises. The third section is derived from the arguments set out in the previous two sections. Its aim is to assess Marx's similarity with Keynes on the matter of 'money as money' and of financial crises. Its conclusion (which is also the conclusion of the paper) is that this similarity, however strong with regard to the role of money as a store of value, is bound to collapse if Marx's law of the falling rate of profit is believed to be true. For in this case the fictitious-capital theory of crises developed in 'the unidentified Part' acquires a secondary importance while financial crises come to be viewed as a typical effect, rather than as the cause, of real crises.Marx, fictitious capital, money capital, financial crises
Wealth
No full textThis paper is focused on the notion of wealth as used by different authors in different periods of time. The paper deals with the contrast between the notion of wealth shared by all major classical economists, particularly by Adam Smith, and the notion previously held by the Mercantilists (by which one nation’s gain is intended as another nation’s loss) or subsequently held by Irving Fisher and other Neoclassical economists(whereby the wealth of an individual is brought to centre stage in lieu of the wealth of society). After distinguishing, in Say’s footsteps, between “richesses naturelles” (the use values given by nature) and “richesses sociales” (the use values produced and reproduced by labour), the paper focuses on the classical notion of wealth as “richesses sociales” (the wealth of nations) and, more particularly, as the flow of final goods available in a period (and made possible by using up the intermediate goods inherited from a previous period) rather than the stock, however formed, of instrumental goods (let alone the value of this stock) owned by individuals at an instant of time (assets).wealth, final goods, instrumental goods, flows, stocks
The new Italian graduation system and the new institutions for raising university funds in Italy
No full textThe Italian university system has undergone two reforms in recent years. One has been introduced by the Ministerial Decrees 3 November 1999, n. 509 and 22 October 2004 n. 207. The other has been introduced by the law 23 December 2000 n. 388 art. 59, c.3. and by the Presidential Decree 24 May 2001, n. 254. The former compels Italian universities, whether public (the majority) or private (a tiny minority) to change their graduation system and courses. The latter enables State universities to establish university foundations (fondazioni universitarie) with the purpose to support their teaching and research activities and, in particular, to extend the sources of their financing to subjects other than the State. The aim of this paper is to present the main features of these reforms. It will show that while the new graduation system conforms to the guidelines of the overarching Bologna Process, which encompasses 45 countries to date, the new university foundations were devised outside of this Process and in view of the obstacles faced by Italian State universities in running their activities and in raising additional funds for their further development especially in the direction of research and technology transfer.Italian university system; university funding; university foundations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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