The literature highlights how climate change might challenge the definitions of wine geographical indications (GIs) in Europe. The central issue addressed in this thesis is whether European GI viticultural systems could tackle climate change via initiating adaptive institutional change processes to relax the constraints imposed by GI production standards. To do so, drawing from institutional economics theory and literature on cooperatives and collective brand, we developed a novel agent-based model (ABM) representing an abstract GI wine production system in the European Union (EU). Using illustrative data, our model allows testing different impact scenarios driven by climate change, spatial heterogeneity, and alternative institutional settings (i.e., voting mechanism). We used the model to explore individual and collective components of climate resilience and the relationship between economic agents and their environment. We compared the average output of 100 simulations for each of the 12 different climate-landscape-institution scenarios. The inclusion of endogenous institutional change led to considerable variations in all target variables, including the emergence of complex/chaotic behaviours. It enabled the system to reduce farm exits, increase profitability and collective brand value. We showed how landscape heterogeneity has a twofold role in the climate resilience of the system. It increases individual adaptability but obstructs collective adaptive capacity through institutional change. The two different voting mechanisms considered (i.e., relative and absolute majority) did not produce any discernible result. The study highlights the importance of policies oriented to strengthening investments in intangibles and facilitating GI rule amendments, especially in sectors where cooperatives predominate due to poor intangible investments capability and other issues connected to member heterogeneity.
The thesis is made of two chapters. The first one exploits an historical natural experiment set during Italy's Fascism to assess cultural persistence vs. dynamics in a paradigmatically critical area, Southern Italy, whose current economic backwardness is often associated to a low social capital endowment, in turn commonly ascribed to cultural and institutional heritage. In the experiment, an exogenous shift of a border into a territory entirely internal to that heritage provides us with an highlighting instrument able to identify weight of history and variation in culture in the 20th century in this doubly depressed region. A discontinuity exercise at the new border shows that, starting from previous homogeneity, there is evidence of relatively recent adverse cultural dynamics in Southern Italian territories. A comparison with an analogous exercise on the old, upper border tends to rule out classical institutional or contagion channels as individual and administrative behaviours used to be not better (mostly, worse) northwards. Their deterioration below the new border emerged endogenously in the period following the creation of Regions, contradicting previous legacy and giving rise to a relative reversal of cultural fortunes. The second chapter provides new evidence on the effectiveness of hiring subsidies that target the long-term unemployed, analysing a generous policy that was in force until the end of 2014 in Italy. Unlike others of its kind, this policy was particularly ambitious as it encouraged only permanent employment, which at the time still benefited from strong employment protection legislation. To achieve identification, we use a triple difference estimator, where we exploit three sources of variation: (i) the subsidy was only for the long-term unemployed and not for the short-term unemployed; (ii) it was significantly more generous in the South; (iii) it was in place until 2014. We find that the relative probability of eligible individuals in the southern regions of finding a permanent job dropped after the program terminated. This effect does not seem to be driven by substitutions over time, across contracts or among jobseekers. A cost-benefit analysis shows that the policy was globally in surplus.
Les démocraties représentatives sont, de nos jours, confrontées à des transformations majeures apportées par les procès de globalisation, l'affirmation de nouvelles technologies de communication et par la diffusion d'un discrédit croissant du personnel politique. Ces transformations semblent affecter les mécanismes centraux de la démocratie représentative. Dès lors, on peut légitimement se demander si elles parviendront à y faire face. Mais il faut observer que les institutions représentatives ont montré jusqu'ici une remarquable résilience, soit une grande capacité d'adaptation aux changements. Conséquente à quatre facteurs cruciaux, qui concernent l'idée de représentation, l'élection, l'indétermination partielle et l'incomplétude du dispositif représentatif. Les institutions représentatives ne relèvent pas de la géométrie politique ; elles procèdent plutôt d'une raison prudentielle : c'est là une autre source de leur adaptabilité et, du coup, de leur longévité.
We study the evolution of union density in 14 European countries over the postwar period in light of theoretical rationales for union membership. Unions offer not only wage bargaining strength, but also protection against uninsurable labour market risks, and similar protection may also be offered by labour market institutions. Empirically, such institutions as job security legislation and wage indexation do appear to crowd out unions. Conversely, institutional features that make it easier for unions to function (such as workplace representation and centralized wage bargaining) are empirically associated with higher unionization.
Economic processes, consisting of interactions between human beings, exploit the social capital of persons endowed with specific culture and identities. The role of institutions and policy makers is to build positive social capital and exploit it to reach their objectives. However, social capital is elusive and has several dimensions by which to interpret its multifaceted functions in economics and society. We cannot forget, furthermore, that social capital sometimes is undesirable for society, for instance when used for unethical uses. Even so, it is widely accepted that social capital has stable and positive effects.
Den här avhandlingen undersöker vilken inverkan styrning som "governance" och interorganisatorisk samverkan har på lokala integrationsprogram inom det svenska flyktingmottagandet. Fokus ligger på att studera hur organisationer på lokal nivå förhåller sig till ett institutionellt förändringstryck om att etablera ett interorganisatoriskt och arbetsmarknadsinriktat program. Syftet är också att bidra till den teoretiska förståelsen av "governancemisslyckanden" och den mångfald av processer som styrning genom icke-tvingande mekanismer och decentraliserat beslutsfattande kan ge upphov till på lokal nivå. Den empiriska studien bygger på intervjuer med företrädare för myndigheter och andra aktörer på olika nivåer inom integrationsområdet. Fallstudier av lokalt utvecklingsarbete har genomförts i fyra kommuner. Avhandlingen visar att styrningen baserad på icke-tvingande mekanismer hade svårt att få genomslag när den stod i konflikt med etablerade arbetssätt och professionella normer. Den har också inneburit vaga och svårförenliga riktlinjer för arbetet på lokal nivå. Inom det lokala flyktingmottagandet har utvecklingsarbetet karaktäriserats av erfarenhetsutbyte, jämförelser och en vilja till gemensamt lärande inom ramen för professionella nätvek. Denna typ av samverkan har bidragit till ökad likformighet, eller isomorfism, inom de lokala insatserna, vilket står i kontrast till målet om ett mer differentierat och flexibelt program. ; This thesis examines the impact and significance of governance and inter-organizational collaboration in the policy area of local refugee reception and immigrant integration in Sweden. The study focuses on how local actors respond to institutional pressures to engage in collaborative efforts in order to make service provision more differentiated and more orientated towards employment. The aim also is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of 'governance failure' and the multiplicity of outcomes that are possible when non-coercive mechanisms are applied rather than formal 'command-and-control'. The empirical study is based on interviews with representatives from agencies involved at different levels. At the local level, case studies of integration programme development were carried out in four municipalities. The analysis shows that the governance strategies, based on non-coercive mechanisms, had a limited significance because they were in conflict with professional norms and practices at the local level of service provision. They also failed to provide more detailed guidance on how the differentiated services should be realized in practice. Instead, programme development at the local level was characterized by collaborative learning and imitation in professional networks, or 'communities of practice'. This type of collaboration contributed to processes of increased homogenization, or isomorphism, which stands in contrast to the goal of a more de-standardized and flexible programme.
Key Points • Understanding the impacts of SDG 16 on forests and people requires attention to the power dynamics that shape how all 17 SDGs are interpreted and implemented across the Global North and South. • As SDGs were agreed upon by nation states, SDG 16 places a strong emphasis on state power and the rule of law. • Yet inclusive governance requires the involvement of diverse actors, and consideration for customary laws and other non-state forms of rulemaking at global to local scales. • Many national laws governing forests and land use favour political elite, large-scale industry actors and international trade. • The development and strengthening of legal frameworks that support all of the SDGs – including those relevant to human rights, income inequalities, land tenure, gender and environmental protection – requires equal or greater priority than law enforcement. Otherwise, law enforcement will reinforce inequities and unsustainable practices. • SDG 16 provides an opportunity to overcome the stereotypes of the Global North as the referential role model for peace and democracy, by highlighting the role of the North in fostering market inequalities and global conflicts, and drawing attention to barriers to democratic and inclusive participation within the Global North. • How transparency, accountability and justice are conceived and prioritised shapes their impact on forests, as well as the degree to which their achievement either empowers forest-dependent peoples or excludes them from meaningful and informed engagement.
Dottorato di ricerca in Economia e Territorio ; Obiettivo del presente lavoro è analizzare l'evoluzione recente del contesto in cui operano i consorzi garanzia fidi ("confidi") in Italia. A tale scopo vengono effettuate delle stime econometriche delle voci di bilancio relative ad un campione di confidi, per indagare sui principali fattori che determinano l'accesso ai sussidi pubblici erogati a questi intermediari per lo svolgimento delle loro attività. Allo stesso modo si indaga sui fattori che determinano l'importo dei sussidi in questione. Le recenti innovazioni di carattere legislativo in merito a queste cooperative ed il nuovo ruolo dello Stato nel garantire i prestiti alle imprese stanno infatti ridefinendo l'operatività dei consorzi garanzia fidi ed il sostegno alla loro attività da parte degli enti pubblici. In particolare tali mutamenti hanno distolto significativamente i fondi pubblici tradizionalmente destinati ai consorzi garanzia fidi, minando la loro possibilità di coprire le insolvenze relative a parte dei finanziamenti che avevano garantito. Lo studio si articola in tre capitoli. Il primo capitolo è dedicato alla presentazione della funzione svolta dai confidi ed alla descrizione del mercato in cui operano. Viene inoltre descritta la principale letteratura di riferimento sul ruolo svolto dalle garanzie sul mercato del credito ed il valore che esse possono avere per la banca e per l'impresa garantita. Inoltre, viene presentato un confronto tra il mercato della garanzia italiano con alcune realtà estere ed il ruolo dello Stato italiano nel mercato della garanzia. Nel secondo capitolo vengono analizzate le fonti di copertura all'interno dei bilanci per i rischi in carico ai confidi, per passare poi ad esaminare alcuni loro indicatori di solvibilità ed infine a descrivere il fenomeno della contribuzione pubblica a sostegno della loro attività. Nell'ultimo capitolo viene effettuata un'analisi econometrica dei confidi attivi nell'anno 2013: partendo dal contributo di Vacca, Mistrulli (2011) riguardo l'incentivazione alle aggregazioni tra confidi tramite la destinazione dei contributi pubblici, si cerca di individuare le determinanti dell'accesso e dell'importo dei sussidi ai confidi. I risultati dell'analisi evidenziano che nel 2013 i confidi di maggiore dimensione sono quelli che hanno beneficiato maggiormente dei sussidi. Gli altri confidi si trovano davanti alle scelte di evolvere dimensionalmente per continuare ad operare con il supporto pubblico o di sostenersi autonomamente con i proventi derivanti dall'emissione della garanzie, pena l'uscita dal mercato. ; The purpose of the present work is to carry out an analysis of the current operational context of the Mutual Guarantee Institutions (MGI) in Italy. In this regard, econometric evaluations are performed upon balance sheet items belonging to a number of MGIs, in order to understand the main requirements for them to be granted access to public subsidies for carrying out their activities. Similarly, factors determining the amount of such subsidies are investigated as well. As a matter of fact, the recent legal innovations related to these consortia and the new role played by the State in granting loans to companies are redefining the operational capabilities of MGIs and the support they receive by public bodies. Specifically, such changes have brought about a significant reduction in the public funding traditionally available to MGIs, thus undermining their ability to fulfill the insolvencies related to portions of the loans upon which they had earlier placed their guarantee. This work is structured into three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to presenting the function played by MGIs and to detailing the market scenario within which they operate. Besides, a description of the core reference literature related to the role played by guarantees in the credit market and the value they may possess for banks and guaranteed companies alike is also discussed. Furthermore, a comparison between the Italian guarantee market and similar foreign scenarios is presented, and the role played by the Italian State within such market is detailed. In the second chapter, methods for MGIs to counter the risks associated with the guarantees they provide to companies are analyzed, taking into account a subset of their solvency indicators and describing the public funding actions for supporting their activities. In the last chapter, an econometric evaluation is carried out upon the fully-operational MGIs in 2013: starting from Vacca, Mistrulli (2011)'s contribution regarding MGIs aggregations via public funding, issues for accessing such funding by MGIs and their corresponding amounts are discussed. Results of the evaluations underline that the largest MGIs in 2013 are those that have greatly benefited from public funding. The remaining MGIs, in order to stay in business, face the critical challenge of either increasing their size so as to keep working with the State's support or choosing self-sustainment with the returns from the guarantee provisions.
This paper analyses the Beveridge Curve across twelve European countries from 1985 to 2013. We employ some novel measures of employment protection legislation and unemployment benefits, and assess the role of globalisation. Structural relationships seem to be stable throughout the 2008-2013 period, suggesting that the Great Recession mainly implied moves along the Curve, while stronger globalisation shifts the Curve outwards. Among institutional variables we find a significant role for the tax wedge, active labour-market policies, union density and employment protection legislation. Unemployment benefits also matter. The unemployment-vacancies trade-off is improved by a higher net retention rate and more strictness in the benefit provision protocol. Both effects can be rationalised in terms of higher search efficiency. ; Questo lavoro analizza la Curva di Beveridge in dodici paesi europei dal 1985 al 2013, avvalendosi di alcuni nuovi indicatori di legislazione per la protezione dell'impiego e sussidi di disoccupazione, e valutando il ruolo della globalizzazione. Le relazioni stimate risultano stabili all'inclusione del periodo 2008-2013, il che suggerisce che la Grande Recessione abbia principalmente implicato movimenti lungo la Curva. Una più elevata globalizzazione sposta invece la Curva verso l'esterno. Tra le variabili istituzionali si trova un ruolo significativo per il cuneo fiscale, le politiche attive del mercato del lavoro, il tasso di sindacalizzazione e la legislazione per la protezione dell'impiego. I sussidi di disoccupazione hanno pure un ruolo importante. Il trade-off disoccupazione - posti vacanti è migliorato da un net retention ratio più alto e da maggiore severità nel protocollo di somministrazione dei sussidi. Entrambi questi effetti possono essere spiegati in termini di una maggiore efficienza nella ricerca del lavoro.
This dissertation examines key characteristics and factors shaping the leadership style of Swedish Prime Ministers (PMs). Based on the research of the American presidency, an interactionist framework is developed which draws upon institutional theory and political psychological theory. The analysis is advanced by exploring multiple sources and is based on four cases of leadership styles: two single party Social Democratic PMs, Ingvar Carlsson and Göran Persson, as well as two center/right coalition PMs, Thorbjörn Fälldin and Carl Bildt. Leadership style is studied through a focused comparison of the PMs' performance of four functions. Thus, the four PMs are studied as staffers and organizers of the cabinet and the Government Offices, decision makers, communicators and crisis managers. The results indicate that the office of the PM is elastic, accommodating a wide-ranging variation of leadership styles. The Social Democratic PMs display the most uniform leadership styles, but, rather surprisingly, they also have the most dissimilar leadership styles among the four cases. The center/right PMs' approaches differ to a great extent from one another, displaying mixed forms of leadership styles. The analysis explains how the PMs' leadership styles are shaped based on the interaction between their distinct personal characteristics and surrounding institutions. Thus, the dissertation concludes that leadership theories developed in a presidential setting are largely applicable in a parliamentary setting and that political behavior is not dictated by institutions such as formal structures or norms. The results encourage a reassessment of how personality, as an explanatory factor, is applied in mainstream political science. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the need for reconsidering the presidentialisation thesis and the notion of dominant leadership as there are alternative pathways to prime ministerial influence which are disregarded in the debate.
FRANÇAIS: L'objet de cette étude est d'examiner comment la "féodalité" et la seigneurie dans la Calabre méridionale normande ont aidé à reconstruire l'état de paix et quelle est l'originalité de la transition entre l'état de guerre et la nouvelle construction politique des Normands. Robert Guiscard, avec son frère le Grand Comte Roger, a conquis la Calabre: le centre et le nord ont été incorporés au duché de Pouille gouverné par Guiscard, tandis que le sud a été joint à la Sicile (qui n'a été définitivement conquise que dans les dernières années du XIe siècle) et donné à Roger Ier. Dans le sud de la Calabre, la situation était étroitement contrôlée par le Grand Comte, puissant aristocrate qui a bâti les fondations du futur "État normand", fondé par son fils Roger II. / ENGLISH: The objective of this study is to examine whether "feudalism" and lordship in southern Norman Calabria was important to reinstate peace and what were its original characters in the transition from the state of war and the new political construction of the Normans. Robert Guiscard with his brother the Great Count Roger, conquered Calabria: the centre and the north were incorporated in the duchy of Puglia and governed by Guiscard, whereas the south was united to Sicily (as definitively conquered in the last years of the 11th century) and donated to Roger I. Southern Calabria, was under the grip of the Grand Count who built the "Norman State" which would be the model of Norman Monarchy as later accomplished by his son Roger II. / ITALIANO: Gli obiettivi di questo studio sono di esaminare se la "feudalità" e la signoria nella Calabria meridionale normanna abbiano contribuito a ricostruire lo Stato di pace e scoprire quale sia stata l'originalità del passaggio dallo Stato di guerra alla nuova costruzione politica dei Normanni in questa "subregione". Roberto il Guiscardo, con suo fratello Ruggero il Gran Conte, conquistò la Calabria: il centro-nord fu incorporato nel ducato di Puglia, governato dal primo; il sud, unito alla contea di Sicilia (isola che fu definitivamente conquistata negli ultimi anni dell'XI secolo), venne concesso invece a Ruggero il Gran Conte. Verrà approfondita la storia della Calabria meridionale, la cui distribuzione del potere rimase strettamente controllata da Ruggero I, potente aristocratico che costruì le basi del futuro "Stato Normanno", fondato da suo figlio Ruggero II. / GERMAN: Gegenstand dieser Untersuchung ist die friedensstiftende Wirkung des Lehnswesens und der Lehnsherrschaft im südlichen normannischen Kalabrien und die Frage nach der Ursprünglichkeit dieses Umbaus zwischen Kriegszustand und Aufbau einer neuen politischen Entität durch die Normannen. Robert Guiscard hatte zusammen mit seinem Bruder, dem Grafen Roger, Kalabrien erobert: Das Zentrum und der Norden wurden in das von Guiscard regierte Herzogtum Apulien eingebunden, während der Süden mit Sizilien (das endgültig in den letzten Jahren des 11. Jahrhunderts erobert wurde) vereint und Roger übergeben wurde. Im Süden Kalabriens, war die Situation unter der straffen Kontrolle des magnus comes, ein starker Herrscher, der für den zukünftigen "normannischen Staat", den sein Sohn Roger II. formen sollte, die Grundlagen schuf.
The current share of sub-Saharan Africa in global carbon dioxide emissions is negligible compared to major contributors like Asia, Americas, and Europe. This trend is, however, likely to change given that both economic growth and rate of urbanization in the region are projected to be robust in the future. The current study contributes to the literature by examining both the direct and the indirect impacts of quality of institution on the environment. Specifically, we investigate whether the institutional setting in the region provides some sort of a complementary role in the environment-FEG relationships. We use the panel two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to deal with the simultaneity problem. Data consists of 43 sub-Saharan African countries. The result shows that energy inefficiency compromises environmental standards. However, the quality of the institutional setting helps moderate this negative consequences; countries with good institutions show greater prospects than countries with poor institutions. On the other hand, globalization of the region and increased forest size generate positive environmental outcomes in the region. Their impacts are, however, independent of the quality of institution. Afforestation programs, promotion of other clean energy types, and investment in energy efficiency, basic city infrastructure, and regulatory and institutional structures, are desirable policies to pursue to safeguard the environment.
Cities are places where a renewed social activism is growing in unprecedented ways. Inside a wide spectrum of different urban collective movements, many practices are "informal" actions of re-appropriation: practices that challenge property and normative regimes in the attempt to recover a multiplicity of spaces that have been dismissed by modernity. These practices are islands of resistance but also incubators of new imageries: organizational experiments that are potentially able to build the city even out of an institutionally recognized framework; symbolic and material tactics of spatial sense-making; a net of molecular and minute writings that transgress the text of the planned city; the result of a capillary battle with power mechanisms. These forms of social mobilization can potentially increase the environmental and social quality of life in urbanized environments. But they need to be supported. In this perspective they represent a crucial challenge for institutions. What role could institutions play in this respect? What kind of tensions need to be explored between social practices and institutional powers? Can public policy promote urban inclusion by legitimizing these self-guiding society expressions?
The paper analyses the role of ideas, past experience and crises in the process leading to theoretical and political disputes and the changes of monetary and banking policy in Sweden in 1844/45. It also analyses the role of institutional settings and types of actors involved in the decision-making process. A comparative approach is deployed. Policy changes at the time in the poor and peripheral Sweden is contrasted with the well-known developments in England. The results suggest that current events and past experience were important factors. Purely theoretical considerations played a somewhat lesser role in determining the policy-change. Institutional peculiarities and country characteristics did not significantly alter the core outcomes, but certain specific features. Probably an influx of ideas, policies and experiences from England also influenced policy choices in the case of Sweden.
The paper analyzes the socio-cultural contemporary context in terms of a contradictory unbinding of social bondings and the de-construction of work organization. The existence of multiple bondings in institutional work, even if significant and rewarding, however, have the character to be unstable, leading to insecurity in the professional identity. The concept of network, if it is to be effective and not cause suffering to the participants, requires a relentless commitment to the government and regulation of the institutional bondings.Keywords: Network working group; Professional identity; Institution ; Il contributo analizza il quadro socio-culturale contemporaneo in termini di una contraddittoria slegatura del legame sociale e della de-costruzione dell'organizzazione del lavoro. L'esistenza di più legami lavorativi, anche se significativi e gratificanti, hanno tuttavia il carattere di essere instabili, comportando insicurezza nella identità professionale. Il lavoro di rete, se vuole essere efficace e non produrre sofferenza ai partecipanti, richiede un incessante impegno nel governo e nella regolazione dei legami istituiti.Keywords: Lavoro di rete; Identità professionale; Istituzione