Quaderni di Dipartimento [serie ordinaria – Anno 1997]

 
 
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ISSN: 2279-9559 (dal n. 1 al n. 157), 2279-9567 (dal n. 158 al n. 363), 2279-9575 (dal n. 364 in poi)

101  Enzo PESCIARELLI
W.E. Hearn on the Industrial Organisation of Society [novembre 1997]
Abstract:
  Analysis of Hearn's approach to industrial localisation shows that he anticipated with unusual acuteness some issues also addressed by contemporary debate on the cause of the rise and competitiveness of firms' conglomerations. One of the main themes of Plutology is analysis of efficiency and the different ways in which it may be promoted. Consistently with such an approach, Hearn placed special emphasis on the role of those economies which arise from the internal organisation and management and those that depend on localisation. In treating this latter point he developed the concept of industrial district and its role in introducing innovations, firm's specialisation in different industries, and the promotion of that specific milieu which Marshall later defined 'industrial atmosphere'. Moreover, both authors viewed the inner dynamism of capitalism as based not merely on the satisfaction of given needs, but on the promotion of new wants and in the corresponding emergence of new 'activities' and 'efforts'. The elements collected in this paper – with a special view to Hearn's analysis of the industrial district – provide further evidence for Groenewegen's claim that he "was a more important influence [on Marshall] than now tends to be acknowledged" and may induce us partially to revise the consolidated opinion that Hearn's role in the history of economic thought was merely that of an obscure forerunner of the marginal revolution.
Citations:   CitEc
 
100  Enzo PESCIARELLI
Adam Smith on Relations of Subordination and Personal Incentives [novembre 1997]
Abstract:
  The aim of the first part of this paper is to analyse the role of institutions in Smith's thought, with special emphasis upon the reciprocal relations which link together individual behaviour, the evolution of property rights, relations of subordination and personal incentives up to the agricultural stage. In this context Smith points out the exclusive role performed by personal incentives in increasing labour productivity, a role which is consistent with his manifest preference for the figure of the "independent small-scale proprietor". The second part of the paper is devoted to analysis of the same topic with specific reference to the emergence of the stage of commerce. In this new context we note a change of paradigm due both to the pervasive role of the division of labour in increasing labour productivity, and – as a by-product of this change – to the emergence of a new form of relation of subordination.
Citations:   CitEc
 
99  Enzo PESCIARELLI
Aspects of the Influence of F. Hutcheson on A. Smith [novembre 1997]
Abstract:
  In this paper I have attempted to show the Hutchesonian roots of Smith's approach in relation both to the role and character of the prudent man, with the attendant references to the sense of propriety, and the theory of value. As regards the first point, the paper claims that Smith construed the figure of the prudent man whose behaviour is based on the sense of propriety in a way reminiscent of Hutcheson's treatment of the good man whose actions are directed by the sense of dignity. In both cases the figures represent the epitome of social mediation. As to the theory of value, Hutcheson's analysis of price clearly shows its indebtedness to Pufendorf and Carmichael by giving specific prominence to the role of subjective judgement as regards the determinants of value. From this point of view Hutcheson's analysis of value and prices apparently adheres to the traditional natural-law approach, which emphasised the role of scarcity, demand and supply. There is however another side to Hutcheson's thought, a side which clearly points to an alternative solution, although it is embedded in a juridical apparatus. In other parts of the System, Hutcheson placed special emphasis on his search for a real and almost invariable measure of value, which he identified in the average amount of labour required to produce standard subsistence commodities. Moreover, in his examination of the new contractual relationships binding 'servants' and 'masters' together, Hutcheson recognised – albeit in a rudimentary form, though this suggests an evolutionary bent to his understanding of the development of society – the existence of a surplus labour-based value which apparently rests on a natural basis.
Citations:   CitEc
 
98  Roberto ESPOSTI
Statica comparata nonparametrica: le ambiguità delle elasticità di prezzo [novembre 1997]
JEL Classification:
  Q11 Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics – Agriculture – Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
  Q16 Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics – Agriculture – R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
Abstract:
  Elasticities estimate is the traditional representation of production response to price changes within the neoclassical theory of the production process. The conventional solution is the econometric estimation of a production, or dual, function, and the following calculation of elasticities. This procedure implies the specification ex-ante of the functional form. Furthermore, due to lacking degrees of freedom, high aggregation across inputs and outputs is required. In this study the price elasticities are found through an alternative calculation of response to price variations. It is the nonparametric analysis of the technology; in this framework, the neoclassic representation is still mantained; nevertheless, no parametric specification of technology is required and no restrictions on parameters to impose theoretical properties are necessary. Nonparametric approach allows to measure outer and inner elasticities, that is elasticities associated with the extreme possible cases compatible with the theoretical restriction. These bounds can provide evidence of substantial ambiguity of the parametric estimates of elasticities whose identification depends on the arbitrary choice of the functional form.
Citations:   CitEc
 
97  Domenico SCALERA, Alberto ZAZZARO
Reputazione di gruppo e discriminazione nel mercato del credito: un modello dinamico con apprendimento [settembre 1997]
Abstract:
  E' ben noto che i tassi di interesse sul credito bancario differiscono significativamente secondo che le imprese appartengono a diversi settori industriali, aree geografiche, gruppi di età. La spiegazione usuale di questo fenomeno è che esista una correlazione tra l'appartenenza al gruppo e la rischiosità dell'impresa. Tuttavia, in un contesto caratterizzato da informazione asimmetrica è possibile che le banche utilizzino l'appartenenza a un gruppo e le sofferenze sperimentate in passato sui crediti concessi alle imprese del gruppo come indicatore della rischiosità di nuove imprese. In questo caso, può verificarsi un fenomeno di discriminazione giacchè imprese di uguale rischiosità possono essere chiamate a pagare tassi di interesse differenti per la peggiore reputazione del gruppo di appartenenza. II lavoro sviluppa un modello dinamico di comportamento bancario in cui il graaduale processo di apprendimento della qualità delle imprese genera fenomeni di persistente discriminazione.
Citations:   CitEc
 
96  Fabio FIORILLO, Stefano SANTACROCE, Stefano STAFFOLANI
Monopsonistic Competition for the 'Best' Workers [luglio 1997]
Abstract:
  In this paper we analyse an economy where firms use labour as the only production factor, with constant return to scale. We suppose that jobs differ in their non-wage characteristics so each firm has a monopsonistic power. Mainly, we suppose that workers are heterogeneous with respect to their productivity. Then, each firm has incentives to offer higher wages in order to recruit the most productive workers. The competition among firms leads to a symmetric equilibrium wage which is higher than the reservation wage and to involuntary unemployment for the less productive workers, that are willing to work at the current wage but are not hired because their productivity is lower than the wage level. If firms have no institutional constraint on paying lower wages for the same job, an endogenous labour market segmentation emerges.
Citations:   CitEc
 
95  Fabio FIORILLO
Rate of Growth and Sectoral Specialisation Coevolution in an Export-Led Growth Model [luglio 1997]
Abstract:
  The aim of this paper is to describe and simulate how the rate of growth and the specialisation coevolve in an export led growth model along Kaldorian tradition. The sector specialisation determines aggregate growth, while aggregate growth modifies sector specialisation, endogenous structural changes emerge. In this model the casual chain "growth – profits – technology – income elasticity of exports" describes explicitly the feedback from growth to exports. Moreover, sectors heterogeneity and the impact of sector specialisation on growth are considered; sectors are heterogeneous because of the different dynamic of profits and because of different income elasticities. Taking account of these two elements, growth and specialisation coevolve: an economic system convergers towards a medium-period macro equilibrium where the rate of growth and sector specialisation is constant. After some periods the system endogenously changes the regime of growth and shifts towards another equilibrium. The result is strongly path and time dependent. Some simulations show the strong differences in the possible patterns.
Citations:   CitEc
 
94  Elvio MATTIOLI, Alessandro STERLACCHINI
Fonti e risultati dell'attività innovativa nell'industria italiana: Un'analisi settoriale [luglio 1997]
Abstract:
  Utilizzando i risultati della recente indagine lstat-lsrds/Cnr sull'innovazione tecnologica in Italia, in questo lavoro vengono individuate, attraverso una cluster analysis, le principali tipologie settoriali dell'attività innovativa dell'industria manifatturiera italiana considerando, separatamente e congiuntamente, sia le fonti che i risultati del processo innovativo. Dall'analisi emergono tipologie settoriali sufficientemente distinte e, cosa più rilevante, viene mostrato che al crescere delle fonti di innovazione più complesse (come la R&S, la progettazione e la produzione di prova) cresce il fatturato delle imprese legato ai prodotti maggiormente innovativi. Tale risultato è confermato da una analisi di correlazione canonica con la quale, inoltre, viene enfatizzata la relazione di complementarità tra le fonti di innovazione più complesse.
Citations:   CitEc
 
93  Rita CAPPARIELLO
Fisical and Monetary Policy Coordination with Endogenous Unions: a Theoretical Policy Game [giugno 1997]
Abstract:
  The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects in terms of output, price and budget level, of monetary and fiscal policies aimed at stabilising the level of output and, thus, employment. This issue is discussed by using a one-shot game which investigates on the macroeconomic consequences of the interaction among three independent endogenous utility-maximising agents: the central bank, the government and the trade union. The model allows also to evaluate the impact on the economy of institutional reforms modifying the degree of central bank's independence and the degree of centralisation in the wage bargaining process. This theoretical framework offers a key to interpret the performance of the Italian economy in the light of some important institutional reforms introduced since the mid-eighties.
Citations:   CitEc
 
92  Tommaso LUZZATI
Norme sociali e sanzione: ilruolo del singolo individuo [giugno 1997]
Abstract:
  La letteratura economica sulle norme sociali tende ad ipotizzare che l'individuo si trovi a scegliere semplicemente se obbedire o meno ad una certa norma e che una sanzione informate, esogena, influenzi la sua decisione. Di fatto, tuttavia, la scelta del singolo riguarda anche un'eventuale attività di sanzionamento. Considerare questo aspetto diviene cruciale quando tale attività sia costosa: il livello complessivo di sanzione (ora endogeno) potrebbe infatti rivelarsi insufficiente a sostenere la norma quale stato di equilibrio. Nella presente nota si immagina che una norma sociale imponga un dato paniere di beni e che la sanzione consista in una sorta di ostracismo. L'esito del modello sottolinea la necessità di una visione eclettica del comportamento umano, tale cioè che riconosca come alla razionalità strumentale si affianchino esigenze normative. Infatti, perchè la norma esista in equilibrio, non basta che quanti sono convinti del suo valore ne desiderino un diffuso rispetto, ma occorre che essi siano anche direttamente motivati a punire chi disobbedisce.
Citations:   CitEc
 
91  Edoardo GAFFEO
Competition-led Endogenous Growth with Localized Technological Change [giugno 1997]
Keywords:
  Endogenous Growth, Local Interaction, Localized Technological Change, Schumpeterian Hypothesis
JEL Classification:
  C60 Mathematical and Quantitative Methods – Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling – General
  L22 Industrial Organization – Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior – Firm Organization and Market Structure
  O33 Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth – Technological Change; Research and Development – Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
  O40 Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth – Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity – General
Abstract:
  The paper airns to amend the standard monopolistic competition framework – and its endogenous growth extension – introducing both heterogeneity among producers and a form of 'Schumpeterian' competitive selection process. According to our view, the introduction of heterogeneity implies that the notion of a symmetric Nash long-run equilibrium solution has to be discarded. This amendment permits to appreciate the role played by preferences and technology in determining the degree of percistency of nominal shocks when the assumption of perfect foresight is abandoned. Furthermore, a trade-off between short run and long run neutrality is assessed. The revised model is then employed in providing some contents to a couple of stylized facts about long-run aggregate growth. Instead of being modelled as a continuous increase of the commodity space, growth is described as succesful R&D investments in decreasing production-cost technologies. Innovation and imitation processes are modelled as activities requiring different amounts of investment, whose outcome is uncertain both as regards the time it takes to occur and the amount of effective increase in productivity it allows. Furthermore, technological change is governed by localized spillovers, so that it can be analytically treated by means of a Markovian random fields' machinery. Preliminary results obtained through a 'Mean Field' approximation allows us to appreciate the influence that alternative assumptions on the nature of localization of technological change bear on the rate of growth of average productivity.
Citations:   CitEc
 
90  Roberto ESPOSTI
Progresso Tecnico Multioutput e Ruolo di R&S e Assistenza Tecnica. Applicazione dell'Analisi Nonparametrica all'Agricoltura Italiana [giugno 1997]
JEL Classification:
  Q16 Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics – Agriculture – R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
Abstract:
  This paper analyses the process of technical change focusing on the effects both of R&D and extension investiments and on the induced innovation hypotesis. This is done relying on a nonparamatric approach to production analysis consisting in analysing a finite body of data without ad hoc specification of functional form of production function. In a multi-output framework, the original nonparametric approach is extended introducing technical change in the form of "netput augmentation" providing a complete characterization of technical change. Moreover, a dynamic relationship between netput augmentations and R&D and extension investments is specified. The methodology is applied to Italian agriculture. The analysis provides useful information about the source and dynamic nature of technical progress.
Citations:   CitEc
 
89  Antonio G. CALAFATI
Labour Supply and Unemployment [maggio 1997]
Citations:   CitEc
 
88  Edoardo GAFFEO
Multilevel Interactions with a Keynesian Flavour in a Stochastic Macroeconomic Model [maggio 1997]
Keywords:
  Bounded Rationality, Fluctuations, Local and Global Interactions, Markov Random Fields
JEL Classification:
  C4 Mathematical and Quantitative Methods – Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics
  C61 Mathematical and Quantitative Methods – Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling – Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
  E32 Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics – Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles – Business Fluctuations; Cycles
Abstract:
  Cycles dragged by switches in preferences are obtained in a stochastic model economy. Both the supply and the demand side, each one of them composed by infinite countable interacting agents, are modelled as dynamic probabilistic processes. Interactions happen at three levels. At a local one, through technological spillovers; at a global one, through preferences spillovers, for the supply and the demand side, respectively; and finally at a mean field level, through rumours producers hear about aggregate demand conditions. Keynesian animal spirits fluctuate as producers perceive that consumers feel more or less confident about their future disposable income. In other words, the way aggregate demand expresses its potentiality drives businessmen's expectations and pushes the economy alternatively towards a 'high-welfare' equilibrium or a 'low-welfare' one.
Citations:   CitEc
 
87  Marco CUCCULELLI
Struttura finanziaria, seniority rules del debito e decisioni di investimento delle imprese [marzo 1997]
Abstract:
  The uncertainty surrounding investment return is at the basis of the financial structure of both the firm and the project. This structure, in turn, may give origin to conflicts of interest between stockholders and bondholders with ensuing suboptimal investment decisions. The resulting deadweight losses, known as agency costs of debt, arise because different types of "stake-holders", under different conditions and expected payoffs, agree to share the risks involved in the operation of the firm. The model provides a simple framework in which the firm's investment decisions are related to the degree of seniorship of the claims. It shows that, in general, wealth tranfers between claimholders and "financial externalities" give rise to incentives for the shareholders to over- as well under-invest in almost all circumstances. By contrast, it also shows how perverse investment incentives can be reduced by a seniority rule that equates the expected return to debtholders in the default state to the project cash flow in the same state (i.e. project financing). The empirical results confirm i) the presence of over-investment incentives in a sample of Italian firm and ii) the hypothesis that the shareholders "over-investment incentives" depends on both the degree of seniorship of the claims and the expected returns of the project.
Citations:   CitEc
 
86  Laura CHIES, Riccardo LUCCHETTI, Stefano STAFFOLANI
Occupazione, Disoccupazione, Intattività: determinanti della mobilità tra stati in Italia [marzo 1997]
Abstract:
  In questo lavoro si propone una analisi empirica dei flussi lordi nel mercato del lavoro, basata sui dati individuali dell'indagine sui bilanci delle famiglie italiane nel 1993 proposta dalla Banca d'Italia. Per le stime delle probabilità di transizione tra stati (occupato, disoccupato, non forza di lavoro) ci serviamo di un modello markoviano, quindi utilizziamo un modello logit multinomiale per illustrare la dipendenza di tali probabilità dalle caratteristiche individuali.
Citations:   CitEc