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We document the emergence of spatial polarisation in the United States during the 1980–2008 period. This phenomenon is characterised by stronger employment polarisation in larger cities, both at the occupational and the worker levels. We quantitatively evaluate the role of technology in generating these patterns by constructing and calibrating a spatial equilibrium model. We find that faster skill-biased technological change in larger cities can account for a substantial fraction of spatial polarisation in the United States. Counterfactual exercises suggest that the differential increase in the share of low-skilled workers across city size is due mainly to the large demand by high-skilled workers for low-skilled services and, to a smaller extent, to the higher complementarity between low- and high-skilled workers in production relative to middle-skilled workers.

In the last decade there has been an upsurge of studies on international comparisons of Total Factor Productivity (TFP). The empirical evidence suggests that countries and regions differ not only in traditional factor endowments (labour and physical capital) but mainly in productivity and technology. Therefore, a crucial issue is the analysis of the determinants of such differences in the efficiency levels across economies. In this paper we try to assess these issues by pursuing a twofold aim. First, we derive a regression based measure of regional TFP, which has the nice advantage of not imposing a priori restrictions on the inputs elasticities; this is done by estimating a spatial Cobb-Douglas production function relationship for 199 European regions over the period 1985-2006. Secondly, we investigate the determinants of the TFP levels by analyzing the role played by intangible factors - human capital, social capital and technological capital. The estimations are carried out by applying the spatial 2SLS method and the SHAC estimator to account for both heteroskedasticity and spatial autocorrelation. It turns out that a large part of TFP differences across the European regions are explained by the disparities in the endowments of these intangible assets. This outcome indicates the importance of policy strategies which aim at increasing the level of knowledge and social capital as stressed by the Lisbon agenda.

Purpose Research on the association between individual characteristics of undergraduate students, drop-out and delayed graduation is still evolving. Therefore, further evidence is required. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on an empirical study examining the relationship between students’ individual characteristics and delayed graduation. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,167 students who have registered on and have completed a full-time undergraduate programme in Italy. Using a Probit model, the findings document the individual, background and environmental indicators that play a role in explaining delayed graduation. Findings The study observes that students who commute to university perform better than those residing on campus. Other factors increasing the probability of completing the undergraduate programme on time include individual characteristics (e.g. gender and age), student background (family income, education), institutional environment (teaching and research quality) and student satisfaction. Finally, some policy implications are discussed. Social implications A direct policy implication of these findings is that supporting academic staff in order to enhance their performance in both research and teaching has a positive effect on the performance of the students. Originality/value This paper contributes to the debate on the impact of institutional quality on students’ performance, aiming to address the question of balance between teaching and research orientation.

We investigate the impact of the consolidation of local agencies publicly providing services, focusing on the prosecution of crime. In many states in the United States, prosecution is a county office with a head prosecutor directing decisions. Other states merge counties into prosecutorial districts. We show that, along with the cost savings that arises, the evidence suggests that prosecutorial services benefit from increasing returns to scale. The efficiency of prosecutorial output is higher in consolidated districts. Further, we show that it is not owing to differing outcomes of the criminal justice system but to fewer inputs used.

No effort has been made to connect good governance and the performance of the tourism industry at the country level. We take a first step to provide empirical evidence of this positive effect. Based on a data set of 100 countries between 2002 and 2012, the impact of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) on the tourism industry is analyzed, controlling also for demographic, economic and environmental factors. Using a dynamic panel data approach, we highlight the role played by good governance in explaining differences in countries’ tourism performances, measured here as inbound tourism expenditures per inhabitant. We also observe that the impact of WGI is even higher among low-openness countries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to employ provincial data to study the relationship between several crime typologies, namely murder, robbery, extortion and fraud and economic output in Italy. Design/methodology/approach – The authors propose a spatial econometric approach where the spatial proximity is defined by a measure of physical distance between locations, in order to take into account possible spill-over effects. Findings – The results of the spatial estimation suggest that criminal activities, namely murder and robbery, exhibit a negative impact on Italian gross domestic product while fraud and total crime do not affect economic output and that there are beneficial spill-overs from neighbouring provinces. Originality/value – The study empirically shows that only violent crimes have a crowding-out effect on economic output.

Worldwide income taxation in the country of residence is a legal dogma of international taxation. We question this dogma from the perspective of relations between developed and developing countries from a legal and economic perspective, and make a modern and fair proposal for tax treaties. We will show under which conditions a developing and a developed country will voluntarily sign a tax treaty where information is exchanged truthfully and whether they should share revenues. Moreover, we will demonstrate how the conclusion of a tax treaty can assist in the implementation of a tax audit system., Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that, for the case of Italy, ceteris paribus, tourist areas tend to have a greater amount of crime than non-tourist ones in the short and long run. Following the literature of the economics of crime à la Becker (Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach, 1968) and Enrlich (Participation in Illegitimate Activities: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation, 1973) and using a System GMM approach for the time span 1985–2003, the authors empirically test whether total crime in Italy is affected by the presence of tourists. Findings confirm the initial intuition of a positive relationship between tourism and crime in destinations. When using the level rather than the rate of total crime and controlling for the equivalent tourists (i.e. the number of tourists per day in a given destination) the effect of the tourist variable is confirmed. Overall results indicate however that the resident population has a greater effect on crime than the tourist population. Therefore, the main explanation for the impact of tourism on crime seems to be agglomeration effects.

In the postal sector, the net cost of universal service depends on the content of the service, the postal market characteristics and the country’s geographical configuration. These three groups of factors affect both the direct cost of providing the service and the extent of competition on the market. In this paper, we consider countries with different geographical characteristics and we show that the choice of an appropriate mechanism to share the cost of universal service between market participants depends on the country configuration. Thus, for universal service financing, one size does not fit all.

International audience; By looking at imports of Eastern European countries we provide novel insights on the importance and magnitude of border effects and on how they are linked with technical barriers to trade. All CEECs considered trade with themselves more than with other countries. We grouped products into three categories; old approach, new approach (including mutual recognition), and mixed. Our results show border effects are the largest for old approach products, where we expect to have the most important technical barriers. The 'new approach' category has the smallest border effects, while the 'mixed approach' products are in between. We assess if such border effects changed over the transition period and we find for new approach products and mixed approach products the magnitude of border effects was declining at the end of the 90s.

This paper studies the determinants of the willingness to pay (WTP) for long term care (LTC) coverage provided through either a public or a private insurance program. Two insurance services are considered, a first one compulsory and financed out through general taxes, another one purchased on a voluntary base and paid through an insurance premium. Data are taken from a survey on a sample of households of the Italian region Emilia Romagna, and WTP is elicited through open-ended contingent valuation questions. We model individual choice as a two stage process, with respondents first establishing their interest for the service, then stating how much they are willing to pay. Auxiliary information allows us to separate zeros arising from standard corner solutions from those generated by disinterest. We test for independence of the interest" process by estimating Heckman's sample selection models both for the public and private case. We show that two sequential processes guide the observed WTP and that their separate identification is crucial for a clear understanding of individual choices. Interest and WTP are influenced by different variables, whereas the same variables influence the two choices in different ways. Moreover, we are able to investigate the differences in stated WTP between public and private provision. The kind of information provided is useful for designing reforms that more closely match collective preferences in a particularly delicate area such as elderly care financing.