Claudio Leporelli

Data integration for research and innovation policy: an Ontology-Based Data Management approach

This paper proposes an Ontology-Based Data Management (OBDM) approach to coordinate, integrate and maintain the data needed for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy development. The OBDM approach is a form of integration of information in which the global schema of data is substituted by the conceptual model of the domain, formally specified through an ontology. Implemented in Sapientia, the ontology of multi-dimensional research assessment, it offers a transparent platform as the base for the assessment process; it enables one to define and specify in an unambiguous way the indicators on which the evaluation is based, and to track their evolution over time; also it allows to the analysis of the effects of the actual use of the indicators on the behavior of scholars, and spot opportunistic behaviors; and it provides a monitoring system to track over time the changes in the established evaluation criteria and their consequences for the research system. It is argued that easier access to and a more transparent view of scientific-scholarly outcomes help to improve the understanding of basic science and the communication of research outcomes to the wider public. An OBDM approach could successfully contribute to solve some of the key issues in the integration of heterogeneous data for STI policies.

Critical mass of users versus critical mass of services in a multiproduct information service system

Abstract In this paper we study the economic behaviour of the suppliers of a set of advanced telecommunications services with a joint adoption cost (common access facilities, learning process, etc.). In fixing the two-part tariffs for their services the suppliers have to share the burden of leaving to the users a surplus sufficient to cover the adoption cost. The lack of coordination in supplying a critical mass of services or in the pricing decisions has high changes to result in suboptimal or unviable diffusion of the new technology as a whole. We present a static optimization model of user behaviour, and derive access and usage demand with a two-part tariff and a joint adoption cost. We compare noncooperative and cooperative market equilibria in a duopoly with perfect information; finally we discuss the extension of our analysis to the case of imperfect information in a dynamic setting.

Praticabilità dell'"unbundling": aspetti regolamentari e tutela della concorrenza

We analyse the operational implications of carrying out local loop unbundling, to identify the structural barriers that delay entry by alternative operators. We claim that this analysis should be used to define appropriate price squeeze tests, to be applied both as ex-post antitrust and ex-ante regulatory tools to prevent market foreclosure by incumbent firms. We apply these tests to the 2002 Reference Offer proposal relative to access to the public telephone network at a fixed location for residential customers in Italy and find that the growth of competition in that market may be prevented. Therefore, we propose a number of measures aimed at pursuing dynamic efficiency, namely, providing incumbents with adequate incentives to share with new entrants both the benefits from scale economies and the costs inherent to developing competition. This appears to be consistent with the spirit of the New Regulatory Framework in Europe, where encouraging facility based competition (wherever possible) is a key policy objective. In this framework, according to the principles of cost orientation and technology neutrality, it is also suitable to assess the pros and cons of the geographical deaveraging of the wholesale price of unbundling, while preserving equity.

Infrastrutture e servizi di telecomunicazione: quali opportunità di sviluppo, oltre la crisi?

Information and communications technologies lie at the heart of the financial bubble blown up in the year 2000. In this paper, we analyse the main features of this financial crisis and their implications on the relevant industries and on the whole economy. Our primary aim is to highlight the causal relationships and feedbacks between the evolution of the regulatory framework and industry structures on the one side, and the turbulence of financial markets, on the other side. We believe that one of the most important real effects of the financial crisis is related to slowing the pace of market competition progress. This may be due to underestimating the structural entry barriers in these industries while financial markets flourished. Now, incumbents have strong incentives to pursue anti-competitive strategies and there is a not negligible chance that the liberalization process will fail. In this framework, this paper analyses entry strategies based on unbundling and discusses the regulatory and antitrust policies necessary to prevent these negative outcomes.

The diffusion of a new telecommunication service: Network constraints and service quality in a dynamic interpretative model☆

Abstract In this paper, a discrete time model for the adoption of a new telecommunication service is proposed. We analyze the interaction of three sets of agents involved in the process: users, information providers, and network providers. We consider the effects of the network constraint and of the expectations of the users and suppliers.

Vertical Control and Parallel Trade under Asymmetric Information

Parallel trade (PT) is a practice related to arbitrage operations in international trade. We provide a rationale for PT as an opportunistic behaviour by an international wholesaler who is privately informed about market demands in two countries where a multinational firm operates. This alternative theory of PT contributes to an explanation of why PT has gained considerable importance in various industries, and why it has not yet resulted in price convergence across relevant countries. Indeed, we find that asymmetric information enlarges the scope for PT, relative to complete information, and possibly increases crosscountry differences in prices. The European Commission supports PT as a means to achieve the integration of national markets, to the benefit of all citizens. However, under asymmetric information, consumers benefit from PT only with a high volume of parallel imports (e.g., when arbitrage costs are low); otherwise competition among wholesalers can be an effective substitute for PT. Furthermore, an important implication of PT is the transfer of profits from the manufacturer to the wholesaler. Therefore, in R&D-intensive industries, such as pharmaceuticals, policy makers should anticipate the likely consequences of PT under asymmetric information on the long-run incentives to innovate.