86,611 research outputs found
Life-cycle consumption and life insurance: Empirical evidence from Italian Survey
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically if the purchase of the life insurance improves the life-cycle consumption profile of Italian households. Starting from the Yaari life-cycle model in the presence of voluntary bequest and term life insurance that cannot be resold in the context of life expectancy uncertainty and, using the CRRA (Constant Relative Risk Aversion) utility function, we obtain two testable Euler equations, one in the case of no insurance and the other with insurance. Then, we elaborate a panel using the data collected from the site of the Bank of Italy and refer to “Indagine sui Bilanci delle Famiglie Italiane, 1977–2016” and we test, empirically, if the insurance policy does, indeed, improve the consumption profile. Adopting as estimator the GMM-sys, we obtain that the life insurance purchase generates a positive effect on the Italian household consumption and, in light of this result, we discuss the motivations whereby only 54% of households in the sample decide to take out an insurance policy
Cultural Sustainability: some Reflections on the Financial Role of the Italian Local Government
No full textConsidering the indisputable cultural vocation of the Italian context and, in general, given the prominence of the cultural aspect as a factor of influence on many other elements that interact with human actions, this paper considers a fourth pillar joining the three traditional sustainability dimensions (environment, economic, social): cultural sustainability. Local governments have a specific role in implementing sustainability (as highlighted in the Local Agenda 21) and the expense represents an important financial indicator to understand public commitment to sustainability. These elements (the financial role of local government and cultural sustainability) are the starting point for this paper that analyzes the financial commitment of Italian local governments in the cultural sector. The models used shows that cultural expenses are related to the average income of the residents, while they are not related to the cultural heritage of the municipality territory. The empirical results allow the Author to draw some conclusions and to identify some aspects that form the basis for further research
Società in house e performance economico-patrimoniale: osservazioni sulla sostenibilità derivante dall’analisi del trend di alcuni indici di bilancio
No full textThe issue of public shareholdings is particularly delicate due to the extent of the phenomenon, the impact on the community of their activities and the amount of public money invested in them. The objective of this work – which should be considered as a first and concise analysis that can be further investigated – is to highlight, in the face of the particular operating conditions reserved for in-house companies, some aspects of the economic performance of this company type of companies. To this end, the tool for analyzing the balance sheet by index is applied to a statistical population of municipal in-house companies (no. 135, equal to all those owned by the provincial capitals of Italy). In addition, in order to verify the existence of a link between some structural elements of the in-house companies (related to the labor factor) and their performance, a further empirical analysis was performed using the regression tools. The results show how, in the first instance, the performance of the companies investigated are characterized by some critical issues, demonstrating weak economic and financial conditions for the sustainability of the activities of the in-house companies and highlighting the ineffectiveness of the preventive assessment of economic adequacy required by the regulations for the establishment of these companies (in the case of awarding services available on the market under a competitive regime). Furthermore, the empirical analysis conducted through the regression allowed to highlight links between the number of employees and the cost of the same and a large part of the financial ratios examined. The conclusions suggest some food for thought for the legislator and management regarding in-house companies and some possible evolutions of the analysis carried out in this article
The contribution of public-private partnership (PPP) to sustainability: governance and managerial implications from a literature review
No full textPurpose – Based on the theoretical background of stakeholder capitalism, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the scientific debate on the topic of public–private partnerships (PPPs), considering in particular how this governance structure relates to the pursuit of sustainable development. Specifically, this objective will be pursued with a focus on stakeholder relations and governance aspects, to highlight enablers and barriers in change for sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach – The systematic literature review is applied starting with the use of keywords in Web of Science, which leads to the extrapolation of 629 articles on the topic of ‘‘PPP and sustainability’’. Subsequently, through various skimming steps, 75 papers are sampled. A mixed (quantitative-qualitative) approach is then followed: a co-word semantic network to identify the pattern of discourse and a more in-depth and explanatory analysis of the papers. These quantitative and qualitative tools synergistically work together to evidence the main aspects related to the aim of the paper.
Findings – With reference to the governance structure and stakeholders of PPPs, the analyses highlight the shift towards a triadic type of relational governance that considers stakeholders (especially the community) in addition to public–private partners. This can improve the partnership’s performance (particularly in sustainable development) and social legitimacy. With reference to the role of PPPs in the implementation of
sustainable development, they have positive potential in terms of implementing sustainability and raising stakeholder awareness of it. Nevertheless, PPPs may entail risks to the implementation of sustainability. The findings lead to some concluding remarks on future research opportunities.
Research limitations/implications – The research leads to some managerial implications, such as the need to follow a competitive collaboration approach among stakeholders, to develop relational
governance skills and related managerial tools and to incorporate sustainability aspects starting from the design of PPPs.
Originality/value – The originality aspect of this research is the consideration of a PPP by relating it to the pursuit of sustainability. Such an inter-organizational structure could be suitable to deal with the
complexity inherent in the implementation of sustainability and is peculiar in terms of governance and stakeholder relations, considering that it is characterised by the presence of several partners of different nature (public and private)
Totally Publicly-Owned (TPO) Utilities and Financial Performance: What is the role of some aspects of governance?
No full textPublic services impact on the citizens’ lives, especially in the case they are delivered by totally publicly-owned (TPO) utilities, that are funded by public money. This highlights the relevance of performance management in totally publicly-owned utilities from which derives the research aim that is to investigate elements that can influence their financial performance, with a specific attention on governance. We focus on a sample of all the utilities (116) wholly owned by the Italian capitals of the provinces for the years 2008-2017 (n. 1,350 observations). Applying the Generalized Least Square (GLS) method, the analysis results allow us to conclude that: the female presence and political orientation of the Board of Director do not impact on the totally publicly-owned utilities’ performance, while size variables differently impact. Political implications (potential disconnection between ownership strategies and Board of Director choices; possibility of a joint management of public services by more municipalities expanding corporate governance) and managerial implications (recruitment strategy, management control system supporting corporate governance) are highlighted. The limit of the work is also identified in the conclusion
Cities' role in environmental sustainability policy: The italian experience
No full textThe environmental dimension of sustainability implies the role of cities, considering their institutional vocation to territorial management and their proximity to the needs expressed by the community. This paper aims to investigate the implementation of a sustainable approach by cities in the realization of environmental policies. The methodology followed is regression (GLS method) that relates the expenses for the environmental policy of a sample of Italian cities (116) to some environmental indicators for the same municipalities (considering 2003–2011). Furthermore, t-test methodology is applied to compare the sample average values to the Italian average values of the selected environmental indicators. The paper takes into account not only a specific phase of sustainability, but it also considers the whole sustainability approach. In fact, the research connects the financial starting point of environmental policy (city's environmental financial commitment) to its environmental impacts (environmental indicators). The results obtained show that the investigated cities, on the one hand, direct environmental expenses to critical factors affecting environmental sustainability but, on the other hand, their environmental policies are not very effective. The research output gives useful information to city managers and politicians in order to focus their environmental policy on a sustainability approach that is effectiveness oriented
The relationship between corporate sustainability and performance: an analysis of agri‐food cooperatives
No full textThe aim of the research is twofold: to investigate the corporate sustainability profile of agri-food cooperatives and to analyze its impact on cooperative performance. This study attempts to fill a gap in the literature represented by the limited investigation of sustainability
according to the integrated approach proposed by the Triple Bottom Line. This study applies the Structural Equation Modeling on data provided by the administration of a questionnaire to the managers of a sample of Italian cooperatives operating in the agri-food sector, selected among the members of the General Association of Italian Cooperatives. The
results show that environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability are relevant to shape the cooperatives corporate sustainability, but they do not impact the agri-food cooperatives performance. Consequently, the cooperative’s management should give more consideration to renewable energy practices and make sustainability practices positively influence the cooperative’s performance through: increasing internal communication strategies, moving from competition to coopetition, developing skills to make sustainability a performance enhancing factor. Furthermore, cooperative management should improve the external communication strategies used to communicate the adopted sustainability practices, in order to make sure that the knowledge of the sustainability profile by the market leads to an increase in consumer loyalty
The Relationship Between Local Public Policies for Economic Development and Entrepreneurial Presence: The Italian Case
No full textThe financial crisis has made the theme of economic development particularly significant. Analysis of this topic cannot ignore a key actor, that is, public administration. Here, we focus on all the Italian municipalities (n = 7,978), analyzing the relationship between local public policies (in terms of municipalities’ governance and local governments’ financial engagement) supporting urban economic development and local entrepreneurial presence (total number of active firms). Applying the general least square (GLS) method for over 4 years (2014–2017; n = 31,912 observations), we find that the financial autonomy of cities and their financial efforts toward international programs, agriculture, agri-food and fisheries, tourism, culture, and economic development policies favor entrepreneurial presence. Our conclusion, contributing to public management and policy literature, also highlights some limits of the research and some related opportunities for further research on the subject
Public-Private Partnerships in the Healthcare Sector and Sustainability: Managerial Insights from a Systematic Literature Review
No full textThis article aims to critically understand the current state of the art of
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the health sector and to highlight
implications useful for implementing sustainability-oriented PPPs. By
employing text mining to analyze the sampled articles, we identify the main themes distinguishing healthcare PPPs and sustainability. We critically discuss the narrative underlying the results achieved in terms of emerging topics: governance, managerial tools, barriers, advantages/disadvantages, and big data. Finally, we propose a literature-driven framework on PPP management that identifies implications – systemic approach, technical managerial skills, governance balance, operational instruments – that can facilitate the development of sustainability-oriented PPPs in the healthcare sector
Public-Private Partnerships in the Healthcare Sector and Sustainability: Managerial Insights from a Systematic Literature Review
No full textThis article aims to critically understand the current state of the art of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the health sector and to highlight implications useful for implementing sustainability-oriented PPPs. By employing text mining to analyze the sampled articles, we identify the main themes distinguishing healthcare PPPs and sustainability. We critically discuss the narrative underlying the results achieved in terms of emerging topics: governance, managerial tools, barriers, advantages/disadvantages, and big data. Finally, we propose a literature-driven framework on PPP management that identifies implications – systemic approach, technical managerial skills, governance balance, operational instruments – that can facilitate the development of sustainability-oriented PPPs in the healthcare sector
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