Fabio Mazzola

The role of linkages in firm performance: evidence from southern Italy

Abstract This paper estimates the probability of success of post-entry performance of new firms, using survey data from a group of southern-Italian small firms. Several factors involving inter-firm linkages contribute to success, especially production for order and subcontracting. The empirical investigation supports Hirschman’s idea on the industrialization process and positive assessments of the downsizing phenomenon in Italy.

Regional Asymmetric Reactions to Shocks in EMU: an Assessment of Different Approaches

In recent years there has been an increasing research effort in estimating regional asymmetric shocks and assessing their importance within the European Monetary Union (EMU). In this chapter we offer an evaluation of the different approaches by distinguishing them according to methodological underpinnings, variables used and pitfalls and potential extensions of the analysis. The structure of this contribution is the following. In section 2 we discuss the relative importance of asymmetric shocks and the main problems connected with their measurement. In section 3 we focus on the explanatory variables which are assumed to determine the asymmetric reaction to shocks and distinguish between sectoral and regional effects. In section 4 we review some of the models that have explicitly measured regional effects within a multivariate econometric context. In section 5 we evaluate the potential offered by alternative frameworks in dealing with the relative shortcomings of the different approaches. Final comments are left to section 6.

Selection bias, incentivi alle imprese e sviluppo locale: una valutazione ex-post

Questo lavoro si concentra sulla valutazione di un programma di aiuti alle imprese facente parte di un piu vasto programma per lo sviluppo locale realizzato in Italia durante il ciclo di programmazione comunitaria 2000-2006. Esso costituisce un approfondimento di una precedente analisi (Cusimano, Mazzola, 2014) di valutazione ex-post degli effetti dei regimi di aiuto previsti nell’ambito dei progetti integrati territoriali (pit), e mira ad identificare l’eventuale presenza di distorsione da selezione (selection bias) nella quantificazione dell’efficacia della politica. Mediante un’analisi empirica effettuata per mezzo di diverse metodologie basate sul propensity score matching (psm) viene mostrato come, almeno parzialmente, i risultati di efficacia, precedentemente ottenuti, potrebbero non indicare un effettivo successo della politica ma riflettere un effetto distorsivo del processo di selezione.

Pianificazione strategica tra sviluppo locale e policentrismo: alcune evidenze empiriche sul caso siciliano

Strategic planning, local development and policentrism: empirical evidence for Sicily The aim of this paper is the analysis of metropolitan strategic planning in Sicily. Urban areas are becoming important units for territorial cohesion policy and strategic planning represents more and more an important policy instrument. Evidence of a policentric pattern is tested across 30 strategic plans carried out by Sicilian cities in order to derive useful insights for policy implications. Methods and Results This study uses multidimensional scaling and rank-size regressions across Sicilian Functional Urban Areas (FUA) as well as descriptive information drawn from strategic plans in order to identify the main characteristics of these instruments and to provide evidence on their capacity to innovate traditional local development policies. Conclusions The empirical results show a strong evidence in favour of hierarchical patterns across urban areas which are adopting a strategic plan while polycentric forces appear to be very limited. JEL: R11, R12, R58 Keywords: strategic planning, local development, functional urban areas, rank-size Parole chiave: piani strategici, sviluppo locale, area urbana funzionale, regola, rango, dimensione