1,721,064 research outputs found
Rischi catastrofali e intervento pubblico
No full textI grandi rischi - terremoti, alluvioni, eruzioni ecc. - pongono alla collettività un
problema di prevenzione e di copertura dei costi causati dalle calamità. Le scelte
di prevenzione sono generalmente decentrate, mentre le politiche di intervento
ex-post sono tendenzialmente centralizzate e danno luogo a una redistribuzione
solidale. In tal modo la prevenzione è scoraggiata. Meccanismi che introducono
il mercato assicurativo potrebbero migliorare la situazione, purché combinati con
l’intervento pubblico, che permane insostituibile
Long Run and Short Run Constraints in the Access to Private Health Care Services: Evidence from Selected European Countries
Full text linkThis paper aims at distinguishing long-run and short-run constraints in the access to private health care services. To this end, we apply the methodology proposed by Carneiro and Heckman (2003) to the SHARE database, a survey conducted in a number of European countries, involving some 22,000 individuals over the age of 50. Micro-data includes information on health and health consumption, and socioeconomic variables (like income and wealth). Our results show that the problem of short-run constraints in the access to private health care services could be real, especially in Italy, Greece, and to some extent Spain. Moreover, there appear to be differences in the role of credit constraints, both considering more specific services, and gender differences
DOES COMPETITION FOSTER TRUSTWORTHINESS? AN ESSAY ON THE EMERGENCE OF TRUST IN A THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
No full textRecent experimental studies argue that competition yields higher levels of buyer trust and seller trustworthiness, with this having obvious desirable consequences on market efficiency. The setting analysed in these studies basically resembles the classical trust game, with the first mover (the buyer) deciding whether to purchase an item, and the second mover (the seller) deciding whether to cheat (by providing a good of a quality different from the one promised or by not shipping the good). Experimental evidence suggests that introducing competition together with some information about sellers’ past choices, enhances market efficiency, given that sellers who behave dishonestly can be traced and punished with this creating strong incentives for sellers to be trustworthy (and for buyers to trust). In the first part of the paper we sketch a model to highlight the circumstances under which competition can plausibly foster trustworthiness. Differently from previous theoretical contributions we directly emphasize the time horizon of sellers as the key variable and highlight the dynamics which can lead to what we call a trustworthy equilibrium. The view that competition fosters trustworthiness is however made under critical scrutiny in the second part of the paper. Here we argue that technological changes have made competition neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for trustworthiness. Historically this has opened the room to public regulation, investments in brand names and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Organizzazioni nonprofit, occupazione e Mezzogiorno
No full textL’obiettivo è quello di delineare le prospettive occupazionali offerte dal settore nonprofit, in particolare nel Mezzogiorno
Optimal risk allocation in the provision of local public services: can a private insurer be better than a Federal Relief Fund?
No full textWe study the institutional solutions needed in a decentralized framework to cope with the potential adverse welfare effects caused by localized negative shocks, that impact on the provision of public services and that can be limited by precautionary investments. We consider first a public relief fund to cover these ‘collective risks’. We analyse the underinvestment problem stemming from the moral hazard of Local administrations, when investments are defined at the local level and are not observable by the Central government that manages the relief fund. We then examine the potential role of private insurers in solving the underinvestment problem. Our analysis shows that the public fund is almost always a better institutional arrangement with respect to the private insurance solution, but competitive private insurers can improve social welfare in the presence of Central government’s soft budget constraints problems, especially when the number of Local administrations is large. (JEL codes: H23, H77, G22
Comparing governments’ efficiency at supplying income redistribution
Full text linkWe examine whether and to what extent political institutions explain different performances in income redistribution across countries. After reviewing the available data sources, the measures of income redistribution and the traditional demand side explanations of redistribution, we focus our analysis on supply side factors, like political and economic institutions, rent seeking processes and the resources and instruments available for redistribution. We provide robust empirical evidence on the association between these different factors and the observed degree of redistribution. Our analysis supports the view that—for a given demand of redistribution—political and economic institutions contribute to explain differences across countries in the observed degree of redistribution
Winners and Losers in the Italian Welfare State: A Microsimulation Analysis of Income Redistribution Considering In-Kind Transfers
No full textIn this paper we consider income distribution in Italy, and evaluate the redistributive impact of in-kind transfers by using SHIW data provided by the Bank of Italy. The analysis is conducted at the household level, comparing families with different needs by means of equivalence scales. We consider both cash and noncash income transfers, looking in particular at health services and educational services. Our results show that– in a given year – redistribution in Italy (as in other industrialised countries) is operated mainly through cash transfers, while the redistributive power of in-kind transfers appears to be limited, and their impact on income distribution less than that obtained with direct taxation. Recent pensions reforms will probably reduce cash transfers, and call for new ways of redistributing income
Cutting the Labor Tax Wedge in Hard Times. Evidence from an Italian Reform
No full textAs the first step of a strategy aimed at implementing a fiscal devaluation, in 2007, the Italian government implemented a reform reducing the labor tax wedge to boost firms' competitiveness. In this paper, we provide evidence on the causal impact on employment of this reform by estimating a DDD model that exploits differences across geographical areas and sectors of economic activity in the tax allowances. We find mildly positive effects of the reform on employment. We interpret this result by observing that the magnitude of the tax incentive was too small for firms to substantially increase the number of workers
The Relationship between Competition and Trust. An Essay in an Historical and Theoretical Perspective
No full textAmong the virtues of competition, one recently emphasized is that it generally enhances agents’ trustworthiness in market economies, thus stimulating trust. This paper emphasizes that the fundamental issue of ensuring an acceptable level of agents trustworthiness in market economies is historically being characterized by increasing complexity. Technological and organizational changes have progressively made more troublesome to cope with this problem, stimulating the emergence of a plethora of institutions, both market-based or enforced by the law. What can be considered as the better institutions, whether market-based or ultimately rooted in public regulation, is not possible to say a priori. It depends on the given historical circumstances. A basic claim of the paper is that the virtues of competition necessarily require an adequate institutional structure to emerge. This puts at the foremost the highly controversial issue of how to enforce an appropriate set of rules in a global economy
Good or Bad? Short- versus Long-Term Effects of Multigrading on Child Achievement
Full text linkThis paper studies the effect of multigrading—mixing children of different
ages in the same classroom—on students’ short- versus long-term academic
achievement in Italy. We cope with the endogeneity of multigrading (and
class size) through an instrumental variable identification strategy based on
a law that disciplines class composition. By relying on longitudinal data that
follow a cohort of Italian students over their compulsory school career, we
show that multigrading has a positive short-term effect on achievements.
This effect fades away over time to become negative in the long run if students
spend several years in a multigrade class. The analysis of mechanisms
points to the fundamental role of teachers and suggests that no negative
long-term effect arises when multigrade classes are taught by more experienced
and motivated teachers. These results reconcile contrasting findings
in the literature based on cross-sectional data and a short-term focus
- …
