How do people choose their commuting mode? An evolutionary approach to travel choices Abstract A considerable amount of studies in the transport literature is aimed at understanding the behavioural processes underlying travel choices, like mode and destination choices. In the present work, we propose the use of evolutionary game theory as a framework to study commuter mode choice. Evolutionary game models work under the assumptions that agents are boundedly rational and imitate others’ behaviour. We examine the possible dynamics that can emerge in a homogeneous urban population where commuters can choose between two modes, private car or public transport. We obtain a different number of equilibria depending on the values of the parameters of the model. We carry out comparative-static exercises and examine possible policy measures that can be implemented in order to modify the agents’ payoff, and consequently the equilibria of the system, leading society towards more sustainable transportation patterns.

Estimating urban food waste at the local level: are good practices in food consumption persistent? Abstract Although the recent empirical literature provides a satisfactory range of estimates of food waste at the national and global level, little attention has been devoted to lower units of aggregation. This article tackles the phenomenon of urban food waste (UFW), proposing an analysis of consumer behaviour at the local level. Using institutional data for Italian provinces, over an 11-year time span (2004–2014), we estimate the amounts of UFW and subsequently investigate the extent of persistence and spatial spillovers using the local Moran transition probability matrix. Our results suggest that the good and bad practices in food consumption that determine the levels of UFW are persistent over time. Moreover, they produce a (though limited) spatial spillover, affecting consumption practices in the neighbouring areas. Two province clusters emerge, one in Northern and Central Italy, featuring negative behaviours and the other one in South-Central and Southern Italy, displaying virtuous behaviours. This situation calls for public policies aimed at promoting convergence in the levels of UFW.

The role of energy mix and financial development in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions’ reduction: evidence from ten leading CO 2 emitting countries Abstract This study explores the relationship between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, financial development and disaggregated energy consumption among the top 10 countries with the highest CO2 emissions (Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Russia, UK and US). The study uses panel data for the period 1990–2014 within a multivariate framework. The econometric techniques of cross-sectional dependence unit root test, panel co-integration (Levine, Lin and Chun; Breitung; Im, Pesaran and Shin; Fisher-Augmented Dickey Fuller and Fisher-Phillips Perrron) tests, fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and Dumitrescu and Hurlin Granger causality tests are applied for the unit root test, co-integration, estimation of long-run coefficients as well as inference on the causal relationship respectively. Pesaran’s cross-sectional unit root test shows that variables are integrated of the first order. Pedroni’s heterogeneous panel co-integration tests reveal a long-run equilibrium relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The Granger-causality results indicate both short-run and long-run causality among renewable, fossil fuel energy and financial development and GHG emissions. The results’ findings have important policy implications for environmental quality, and thus, GHG emissions’ reduction using a higher percentage of energy from renewable energy. In addition, there is need for countries to increase financial support on renewable energy infrastructure construction as well as transformation of fossil fuel energy utilization.

Revealed individual attendance at Italian theatre: a microeconomic investigation Abstract This paper investigates theatre consumption in Italy in 3 years, 1995, 2000 and 2006 using data provided by the Italian Institute of Statistics (2006 the latest year for such data) and the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers. These data sets are very large and rarely analysed in the current economic literature. Explanatory variables are determined by identifying their contributions to both the probability to attend, and the probability to attend more, using the finite mixture regression model. Socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, participation in other cultural activities, ticket price and theatre supply are taken into account to varying extents. Three main findings emerge based on a more generous sample than past analyses. The strong confirmation of a priori expectations for education and occupation variables. The different impact of explanatory variables on the decision to attend and the decision to attend more. Finally, a remarkable consistency of results across the 3 year surveys and the different model specifications.

The Italian economic stagnation in a Kaldorian theoretical perspective Abstract This paper analyses the Italian economic stagnation in a Kaldorian framework. On the theoretical ground we propose an interpretation of the Italian economic stagnation based on the continuous reduction of aggregate demand and labour productivity. We also consider the role of the banking sector as a factor driving aggregate demand and, in turn, labour productivity. We estimate a VAR for the period 2002–2015 to analyse jointly the evolution of private consumption, real GDP, private investments, credit supply, labour compensation and productivity. Our main empirical finding is that aggregate demand and credit supply significantly affect the path of labour productivity, consistently with Kaldor–Verdoorn Law.

Productive and unproductive competition: a unified framework Abstract Conventional theories of competition classify contests as being either “productive”, when the competitive efforts generate a surplus for society, or “unproductive”, when competition generates no social surplus and merely distributes already existing resources. These two discrete categories of competition create a division of real-world situations into analytical categories that fails to recognize the entire spectrum of competitive activities. Taking the existing models of productive and unproductive competition as benchmark idealizations, this paper revisits the relationship between the privately and socially optimal levels of competition in the full range of intermediate cases, as well as in the extremum cases of destructive and super-productive competition.

Early entry, age-at-test, and schooling attainment: evidence from Italian primary schools Abstract The effect of early school entry on pupils’ educational outcomes is investigated using data covering the entire population of Italian primary school students and exploiting exogenous thresholds imposed by legislation regulating school entry. Evaluation tests are set at different dates for different cohorts so that the effects of age-at-test and age-at-school-entry on pupils’ performance can be disentangled. Results highlight that despite a negative and significant effect of age-at-test, the negative effect of early enrollment on scores is still present and it lasts for the entire primary education path.

Homeownership and entrepreneurship: a search-and-matching model and a panel analysis in Italy Abstract Housing market rigidities or inefficiencies can damage labour market outcomes and increase unemployment. Also, a related research stream claims that higher homeownership rates are associated with fewer new businesses. Using a search-and-matching model, this theoretical paper investigates the inexplicably neglected relation between homeownership and entrepreneurship by distinguishing two channels through which homeownership affects the creation of enterprises and jobs. The first channel looks at the job search intensity of homeowners, while the second considers the link between the benefit of being a homeowner and the revenues of a new enterprise that is run by the homeowner. The main result of this paper is that the intrinsic preference for homeownership plays a key role in the establishment of new businesses, while in general homeownership does not encourage the development of existing enterprises. Indeed, a panel analysis in Italy confirms the main finding of the search-and-matching model, namely outright homeownership encourages the creation of new small businesses.

The role of employee incentive pay in the competitiveness of family and non-family firms Abstract Insufficient attention has been paid to the different roles of wage incentives in the competitiveness of family and non-family firms. This paper addresses this issue and uses a sample of listed and non-listed Italian firms for 2007 and 2010 to show that family firms that adopt incentive wages obtain greater gains in competitiveness with respect to non-family firms. Unlike what occurs in non-family firms, the efficiency enhancing effect of incentive wages more than compensates for the premiums paid to employees and enables family firms to achieve significant gains in terms of competitiveness.

Equilibrium unemployment as a worker insurance device: wage setting in worker owned enterprises Abstract Worker co-operatives have been shown as characterised by higher wage volatility while providing higher employment stability compared with investor-owned firms (IOFs). These stylised facts show co-operatives’ stronger tendency to preserve employment more than maximising members’ incomes or profits. Most empirical tests in different national contexts also provide evidence of lower wages in worker co-operatives than in IOFs. Such evidence is unexplained to date. To fill this explanatory gap, we resort to the Shapiro and Stiglitz (Am Econ Rev 74(3):433–444, 1984) model of unemployment as a worker discipline device. Given lower agency costs, more efficient monitoring and the absence of wage premiums compensating for the expected costs of contractual failures, we show that equilibrium wages in co-operatives can be lower than in IOFs, while employment, ceteris paribus, is always higher. We draw the following conclusions: (1) Equilibrium unemployment can be at least partly interpreted as a negative external effect of labour contract failures and bilateral opportunism. (2) Shapiro and Stiglitz’s (1984) result is a special case of a broader class of equilibria characterised by contractual imperfections in the agency relation. (3) Various ownership forms can have different impacts on equilibrium unemployment and wages.