Antonella D'Agostino

STUDYING INEQUALITY IN INCOME DISTRIBUTION OF SINGLE‐PERSON HOUSEHOLDS IN FOUR DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

The increasing frequency of single-person households has become a major economic phenomenon, and is likely to become an important political force. This paper focuses on differences related to inequality of income distribution among single-person households in Europes four largest economies, i.e. France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. Income distribution was modeled in terms of individual characteristics using a parametric model with heterogeneous model parameters. Poverty differences were also broken down using the results of Biewen and Jenkins (2005) in order to understand the relationship between poverty and individual characteristics among countries.

The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula) as a bioindicator of oil field activity.

The aim of this study was to develop and to validate a methodology based on biomarker responses and residue analysis on the terrestrial lizard Podarcis sicula to assess the ecotoxicological effects associated with on-shore oil extraction. The oil treatment plant investigated is located in Val dAgri (southern Italy). Italian wall lizards were sampled on four stations along a transect determined on the basis of prevailing winds downwind of the oil plant. Cytochrome P450 1A1 activities (EROD and BPMO), AChE activity, PAH bile metabolites and contaminant levels (PAHs and trace elements) were measured. Major results in the evaluation of toxicological impact of oil field activity in the Italian wall lizards were obtained for Cd, Hg, total and carcinogenic PAH levels, and PAH metabolites in bile. Results obtained validate, for the first time, P. sicula as a terrestrial bioindicator for the assessment of the toxicological impact of on-shore extraction activity.

Graduates in economics and educational mismatch: the case study of the University of Naples ‘Parthenope’ 1

The quality of jobs of economics graduates was studied in terms of educational mismatch. The returns of over‐education on earnings and on the job‐search were also investigated. The discussion regards the second wave of a longitudinal survey of a random sample of economics graduates from the University of Naples ‘Parthenope’, a major school of economics in southern Italy. Over‐education was measured using two different indicators of educational mismatch, one based on an objective parameter and the other on the same parameter combined with a subjective one. A probit regression with selection was carried out to analyse the influence of a set of control variables (such as family, background, employment geography and characteristics of job, work history, gender and channels used to enter the labour market) on over‐education. The same variables were used to study the returns of over‐education on earnings and on the job‐search. The probability of being over‐educated was significantly affected by gender, attainments in Higher Education (HE), channels used to enter the labour market, job location and job sector applied for. Females, lower HE achievers and graduates working in trade/sales or information systems sectors were more likely to be over‐educated than other subjects, whereas use of further education to enter the labour market decreased the probability of being over‐educated. Over‐educated workers were found to have a high probability of low earnings. Over‐education and low earnings induced workers to change jobs.

First ecotoxicological assessment of Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mediterranean Sea using an integrated nondestructive protocol

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a long-lived carnivorous reptile included in the IUCN Red List. The IUCN assessment for this species underlines the lack of information regarding pollution and pathogens and indicates as a priority effort to investigate and reduce the impacts of these threats. In this contest, the aim of our study was to conduct the first ecotoxicological assessment of this species in the Mediterranean Sea using a nondestructive integrated methodology. We set up and applied a monitoring protocol which includes endpoints, such as CYP1A, LPO, ENA assay, B esterases, never investigated before in this species. Seventy-five loggerhead turtles were sampled in a nondestructive way in Italian Sea Turtle Rescue Centers or free-ranging along the Spanish coasts. Blood, skin and carapace samples were used to test biomarker responses (CYP1A, VTG, LPO, Comet and ENA assay, BChE, GGT) and contaminant (OCs, PAHs, Pb, Cd, Hg) levels. Elaboration of experimental results was carried out taking also into consideration different age classes of the specimens. Among the main results obtained we should underline the statistically significant correlation between carcinogenic PAHs in blood and DNA fragmentation as well as between Cd in carapace and GGT in plasma. We also evidenced as youngest animals showed significantly higher DNA fragmentations, BChE inhibition and increase of GGT. Older specimens showed the highest levels of erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities which may indicate a long term toxicological stress. This study contributed to expand the knowledge about the ecotoxicology of C. caretta in the Mediterranean. The nondestructive protocol could also be applied to other marine ecosystems and other sea turtle species.

A parametric model for estimating fuzzy poverty measures and their standard errors

In this paper we propose a parametric model for the membership function that is usually defined in the fuzzy approach to poverty analysis called IFR (Integrated Fuzzy and Relative). Our proposal may be added to the present literature because we are interested to the overall shape of the membership function instead of using only empirical average values as is usually done. This approach allows us to give an economic interpretation of the parameters involved in the theoretical distribution that makes the comparison between monetary and non monetary indicators and among several populations easier. Empirical results show significant differences in monetary and non-monetary poverty between Southern and Northern regions in Italy.