Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACTThis paper uses stochastic frontier methodology to analyse foreign direct investment, imported capital goods and human capital as channels for increased efficiency in less‐developed countries. Empirical investigation reveals that developing countries differ with respect to the efficiency with which they use frontier technology. Foreign direct investment and human capital play a significant and quantitatively important role in explaining these differences.

This paper provides an economic explanation of the frequent rule changes in the Formula One (F1) motor racing series. In a two-stage model, the FIA (as the organizer of the F1) first decides whether to change the rules or not, and then the racing teams compete in a contest. It turns out that a rule change reduces the teamsâ ™ performances, but also improves competitive balance between the teams. The rule change is implemented, if the FIAâ ™s revenue gain from the latter effect overcompensates the FIAâ ™s
revenue loss from the former effect. We provide empirical evidence from F1 seasons in the period 1950-2005 which supports the main implications of the model.

Il concetto di capitale territoriale è stato discusso in numerosi documenti internazionali e in differenti ambiti disciplinari. Dalla rassegna della letteratura si evince una ricorrenza definitoria di alcuni contributi e un recente rinnovato interesse per l'argomento. Tutto ciò in un contesto di profondo cambiamento che ha visto la graduale affermazione di un punto di vista "territoriale" e dal "basso" rispetto ai tradizionali approcci "esogeni" e "dall'alto". In quest'ottica, la maggiore attenzione posta sul soddisfacimento dei bisogni locali relativizza anche il concetto di risorsa. La dimensione socio-culturale assume un ruolo chiave in quanto da essa dipende la rappresentazione del territorio e, quindi, gli obiettivi di sviluppo di una comunità. Da questo punto di vista, il concetto di capitale territoriale sembra fornire un importante contributo, soprattutto in termini di definizione del quadro logico di riferimento. Nel presente lavoro, a partire dalla letteratura, si cerca di elaborare una definizione di "capitale territoriale" che, pur rispecchiando gli elementi di complessità a cui si è fatto cenno, possa essere applicata a diversi contesti e consentire una semplificazione schematica della rappresentazione delle qualità territoriali. L'analisi dei fattori che lo determinano e la scelta delle variabili per la sua rappresentazione fanno emergere chiaramente la necessità di riflettere ulteriormente sugli approcci per la sua misurazione e sulle modalità del suo impiego a supporto delle politiche di sviluppo. ; The concept of territorial capital has been discussed in numerous international documents and in different disciplinary fields. The review of the literature shows a definitive recurrence of some contributions and a recent renewed interest in the theme. This happened in a context of profound change that has seen the gradual affirmation of "territorial" and "bottom-up" approaches compared to the traditional "exogenous" and "top-down" ones. From this point of view, the greater attention paid to the satisfaction of local needs also relativizes the concept of resource. The socio-cultural dimension assumes a key role as it depends on the representation of the territory and therefore the development objectives of a community. Then, the concept of territorial capital seems to provide an important contribution, especially in terms of defining the logical framework of reference. In this research, starting from the literature, the aim is to elaborate a definition of "territorial capital" which, while reflecting the elements of complexity referred to, can be applied to different contexts and allow a schematic simplification of the representation of the territorial qualities. The analysis of the factors that determine it and the choice of the variables for its representation clearly highlight the need to reflect further on the approaches for its measurement and on the modalities of its use in support of development policies.

AbstractThis article studies the distribution of well‐being and, specifically, the degree of poverty and deprivation in Albania, in the years 2002 and 2005, using Living Standard Measurement Surveys (LSMS). The distribution analysis is performed by applying both one‐dimensional and multidimensional approaches, in particular to better examine the link between economic growth, inequality and poverty in Albania. Furthermore, by estimating a non‐monetary indicator, as proposed by Bossert et al. (), and a nonlinear principal component model together with a probit model, the paper focuses on the multidimensional measures of poverty to address the relationship between poverty and socio‐economic factors. Our evidence shows that absolute poverty decreased from 2002 to 2005 while national relative poverty increased; economic growth reduced poverty in Albania over the observed period; and living in rural and mountain areas, being female, poorly educated and with a large family increased the probability of suffering from deprivation.