1,720,969 research outputs found
Mines and quarries production: A driver analysis of withdrawals in Italy
No full textThe growing demand for non-energy mineral resources has determined relevant withdrawals as well as import-export flows. This paper aims to disentangle the drivers of raw non-energy mineral resources extraction in Italy. Using a new dataset of raw resources extracted from mines and quarries in the 21 Italian regions (19 regions and 2 autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano) for the period 2013–2016, our empirical analysis confirms the relevance of mining and quarrying producer price index as well as the manufacturing and construction sectors as main drivers. In line with the Hotelling (1931)'s theory, a positive relationship between m&q mineral resources extraction intensity and m&q producer price index is also estimated
Climate variability and agriculture in Italy: a stochastic frontier analysis at the regional level
No full textIn the next future, climate change effects will represent a challenge for Europe and the Mediterranean area. These will have to cope with a rapid increase in climate variability. Although many economic sectors may be affected, agriculture is the most susceptible as climate heavily affects crop production trends, yield variability and the availability of areas suitable for cultivation. Using the stochastic frontier approach, the aim of this work is to analyse the impacts of climate variability on Italian regional technical efficiency in the agricultural sector for a period spanning from 2000 to 2009. Considering that technical inefficiency could be influenced by two main annual meteorological variables—the deviation of rainfalls and minimum temperature from the 1971–2000 mean value—and by seasonal rainfalls and minimum temperature moving average values, we find that annual, as well as spring and autumn rainfalls, have significant and beneficial effects on efficiency and hence on regional crop yields. The minimum temperature is efficiency-increasing in summer and winter while is detrimental in autumn
Efficiency in the use of natural non-renewable resources from mining and quarrying in Italy. Time series analysis and Economy-wide Material Flows Accounts
No full textPolitical reasons have been pushing towards a process of decentralization of
powers and responsibilities since last twenty years in Italy. The regional management
of mining and quarrying (m&q) should be an interesting case study of this change.
This process has begun in the ’70s with the Pres. Decree N. 616 of 1977. By
examining administrative data and Regional Laws, this paper highlights how
misleading is the awareness of policy makers of the real value of raw mineral
resources domestically extracted: they seem closer to common goods rather than to
public goods. By combining data on local governance with official statistics of
Economy-wide Material Flow Accounts (EW-MFA), our econometric analysis intends
to verify both the existence of an inverse supply curve between m&q domestic
producer price index (as dependent variable) and no-energy producing mineral
quantity extracted and the effect of Italian Regions Responsibility about m&q activity
on m&q domestic producer price index, controlling for construction sector value
added, R&D national expenditure, Openness to international trade (1980-2010
DOMESTIC MATERIAL CONSUMPTION INDICATOR AND NATURAL RESOURCES: A EUROPEAN ANALYSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE
Full text linkThe study investigates the relation between per capita Domestic Material
Consumption indicator (DMC) and per capita income. Economic literature focuses mainly
on air, water and land pollution while we consider as environmental degradation the
consumption on natural resources extracted from the environment. Using a cross–
European panel of countries over the period 2000-2011, our results confirm the absence
of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) between per capita DMC and per capita GDP
both for EU-27 vs. 30 European countries and for Western vs. Eastern European countries.
The turning points are so high that it is present a monotonic increasing relation between
DMC indicator and GDP
Irrigation water intensity and climate variability: an agricultural crops analysis of Italian regions
No full textThis paper examines the relationship between the requirement of water resources for irrigation and climate variability and analyses the ranking of the best and worst performance of irrigation water intensity for each Italian region. To measure water resources demanded by agriculture, the irrigation water intensity (IWI) indicator has been computed as the ratio between volumes of irrigation water and total crop harvested. By applying panel data methodologies to a regional dataset spanning from 2000 to 2009, we may address heterogeneity and omitted variable issues. By merging meteo-climatic with agricultural variables, we may confirm that water precipitations, maximum temperature, irrigation propensity indicator, and yields are the main and relevant determinants of the IWI indicator. Moreover, results confirm our expectations that regions belonging to South and Islands macro-areas seem the best performers in terms of irrigation water intensity. Also, our analysis reveals limited availability of information on water resource data and suggests strengthening the need for regularly collecting data and producing statistics to support in designing adequate tools for optimal policies
Measuring water-use in response to climate change: an analysis of the efficiency of Italian crop production system
No full textOfficial meteo-climatic statistics show the variability of weather conditions. Their effects on socioeconomic
and natural environments should be analyzed in multi-dimensional studies. Among sectors,
agriculture is expected to be the most sensitive as well as water resources availability. The aim of
our analysis is to measure the performance of Italian regions in crop production by estimating both
production technology - including a measure of irrigation water used as input - output elasticities and
returns to scale and productive efficiency or technical efficiency where rainfalls and temperatures are
proxies of CC conditions in the period 2000-2010 at Italian regional level, using the stochastic frontier
approach (SFA). The scarce official statistics on irrigation water in agriculture make our analysis
challenging. Our results point out the need i) to strengthen official statistics on irrigation water to
improve the analysis on inputs of farmer’s crop production in Italy; ii) to update meteo-climatic and
hydrological measures according to the official international guidelines
Defining Smart Cities: a relative and dynamic approach
No full textAlthough the level of interest in smart cities is growing, the main issue – the smart city concept – is still
open. The definition of smart city is not shared as well as the way to measure city’s smartness. The main
approach has developed the concept of an “ideal” city which every city should tend because it represents the
optimal standard.
In this context, the aim of our paper is to break with the traditional point of view in favour of a new concept
of smartness which identifies a city specific value of smartness, based on the efficient use of its own
resources and related to the different context in which a city is situated. Thus, in this way, the concept of
smartness becomes relative. Moreover when a city is very close to optimal value (i.e. maximum efficient
frontier) then the frontier will shift upward because of the more attractiveness of the city but after a while the
performance of the city goes down and a new adjustment mechanism should be followed to become efficient
again (virtuous cycle). The needed time to be close again to the frontier will be correlated to the degree of
inertia (reaction time) of urban government. So the smartness concept becomes dynamic as well as relative
because it depends on how long the city takes to react and change the direction of its own performance to
become smart again
Efficiency in the Use of Natural Non-renewable Resources and Environmental Federalism in Italy. Evidence from Regional Management of Mining and Quarrying
No full textThe separation of powers and responsibilities has evolved over time in Italy given that political ideals have
been pushing towards a greater decentralization for the last twenty years. Under environmental federalism
issues, an interesting case of study - capable of being empirically treated - is the attribution of power to the
Regional governments over the management of mining and quarrying. This process, however, -- started in
the ’70s with the Presidential Decree N. 616 of 1977. By examining Regional Laws, this paper highlights
how the policy makers have a misleading perception of the real value of raw mineral resources domestically
extracted and that these seem closer to common goods rather than to public goods. By using official statistics,
the aim of our econometric analysis is to verify both the existence of an inverse supply curve between
mining and quarrying domestic producer price index - considered as a dependent variable - and non-energy
producing mineral quantity extracted and the effect of the Italian Regions Responsibility over mining and
quarrying activity on mining and quarrying domestic producer price index, controlling for construction
sector value added, R&D national expenditure and Openness to international trade in the period 1980-2009
Stochastic Frontiers Approach: an Empirical Analysis of Italian Environmental Spending
No full textUsing the stochastic frontiers approach (SFA) on a panel of Italian regional
data, this paper tries to analyse the optimal design of environmental spending. The main
question is, so forth, studying centralization vs decentralization of a public economic
function, such as the protection of the environment, in order to improve the welfare of a
country. Empirical results on Italy are ambiguous: the changing from a centralized to a
decentralized government, giving more autonomy to local units, does not highlight a
clear improvement in regional economic performance
Local vs. National Environmental Spending: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis
No full textThis work studies the impact of public environmental spending in a fiscal federalist framework.The main question is studying when the centralization of this public economic function is welfare improving. Applying the Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) on Italian, Portuguese and Slovakian data, the paper tries to test this issue. Our results highlight the superiority of centralized environmental spending with respect to the decentralization of this particular public good
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