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This paper presents new evidence on the assessment of banks' cost efficiency gains stemming from ICT adoption. With respect to the existing literature we introduce two novelties. First, banking operating costs are explained in terms of a commonly used measure of IT innovation (the relative diffusion of ATMs) and a new variable defined as automated payment transactions. Second, the results obtained via standard parametric estimation methods are compared with those obtained via nonparametric estimation techniques. Using an original dataset of Italian banks observed in the period 2006–2010, we do not find clear cost efficiency enhancing effects due to ATMs diffusion. On the other hand, the diffusion of electronic payments shows a significant effect in terms of cost inefficiency reduction.

This paper provides a non-technical overview of NEG models dealing with policy issues. Considered policy measures include alternative categories of public expenditure, international tax competition, unilateral actions of protection/liberalisation, and trade agreements. The implications of public intervention in two-region NEG models are discussed by unfolding the impact of policy measures on agglomeration/dispersion forces. Results are described in contrast with those obtained in standard non-NEG theoretical models. The high degree of abstraction limits the applicability of NEG models to real world policy issues. We discuss in some detail two extensions of NEG models to reduce this applicability gap: the cases of multi-regional frameworks and firm heterogeneity.