Giuseppe Di Vita

Technological change, growth and waste recycling

Abstract This paper presents a model of endogenous growth with an exhaustible resource, in which waste recycling increases the growth rate of total input. We show that technological change plays a central role in increasing the quantity of secondary materials produced. In our model, a double endogenous effect emerges: (i) a direct one through technological progress; and (ii) an indirect one, by means of the discovery of the new techniques of waste recycling. One of the main findings is that the policy maker can increase the growth rate of the economy by promoting research activity. Moreover, we demonstrate that total welfare increases, as a consequence of waste recycling, in industrialized countries and developing ones, but the production costs of secondary materials are lesser in the latter. Finally, the principal results of our analytical framework are consistent with the empirical evidence.

Macroeconomic effects of the recycling of waste derived from imported non-renewable raw materials

Abstract The literature on waste recycling neglects the potential effects that this process can have at the aggregate level, although there are positive externalities which have not emerged in the microeconomic analysis of this phenomenon. This paper investigates the macroeconomic effects of the waste recycling process, with particular reference to a country, such as Italy, which uses many foreign non-renewable resources. We use the Keynesian multiplier theory as a theoretical framework to evaluate the potential results of an increase in waste recycling on the gross national product, the balance of payments and employment. In such a way the policy maker can better evaluate whether to promote the process considered here rather than discharging the waste in the environment.

Renewable resources and waste recycling

In this paper we consider an endogenous growth model involving, among other inputs, a renewable resource and secondary materials. Using this analytical framework we explain the effects of waste recycling on the growth rate of the economy, that we take into account. The effects of secondary materials production on the utility and dynamics of renewable resources are also studied. Furthermore, we consider how taxes and subsidies, levied on natural resources and granted for secondary materials, influence the dynamics of the economy during the transitional phase and the stationary growth path. Finally, the validity of Hotellings rule and the effects of waste recycling on labor productivity are the conclusive topics of our research.

Standard output versus standard gross margin, a new paradigm in the EU farm economic typology: what are the implications for wine-grape growers?

A new farm economic typology has recently been introduced in the EU. This study compares the economic performance of wine-grape growers in four important quality wine areas of Sicily taking into account the different EU economic typology standards of standard gross margin (the old method) and standard output (the new method). The objective of this study is to identify the differences between the two methods and to ascertain the potential implications for small wine-grape growers’ profitability and their access to public support. We seek to determine whether restrictions can be identified that limit the potential benefits from rural development policies. For this purpose, we applied the economic criteria of the EU to a representative sample of Sicilian wine-grape growers in order to compare the economic profitability of wine-grape farms in protected designation of origin areas. This comparative approach has allowed us to categorize the economic size of the sample in accordance with recent EU modifications and discuss the possible impacts that the adoption of the new economic criteria would have on access to the Rural Development Programme measures for wine-grape growers.

Are the outputs derived from secondary materials giffen goods

Abstract In this paper we show that under double constraint the goods derived from secondary materials could be Giffen. The example is given of paper derived from waste recycling. We show that if the policy maker misunderstands the type of goods, because he incorrectly considers a Giffen good to be normal, the results of his economic policy could be opposite to his goals. Finally, we make some considerations to generalize our results, and suggest topics for further research.

When Consumers and Products Come From the Same Place: Preferences and WTP for Geographical Indication Differ Across Regional Identity Groups

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the existing literature on geographical indications by observing consumers’ stated preference for extra-virgin olive oil in two groups differing in their regional identity. In particular, consumers from two groups were asked to rank products in a contingent ranking survey. One group (“insiders,” Sicilian consumers) shared origin with a good product (Sicilian oil); the other group (“outsiders,” Rome and Milan) presented “no association” consumer-product. Results indicate that insiders are willing to pay more for goods originating from the region they identify with compared with a region associated with outsiders. Identity seems to give a bias by which a local product is not necessarily perceived as superior in absolute terms, but in relative terms: outside products are never considered better than inside options but are either inferior or equal in perceived value.

Endogenous discount rate and elasticity of the marginal utility of consumption

Using an endogenous growth model where the discount rate is a function of consumption, we show that the condition in which the elasticity of the marginal utility of consumption is greater than 1 ensures, at the same time, the existence of an unique saddle point equilibrium and the maximization of capital and consumption.Using an endogenous growth model where the discount rate is a function of consumption, we show that the condition in which the elasticity of the marginal utility of consumption is greater than 1 ensures, at the same time, the existence of an unique saddle point equilibrium and the maximization of capital and consumption.

Curbing Corruption in Public Administration: A Case Study from Italy

The aim of this article is to verify whether the historic sentence, no. 500/1999 of the Italian Legitimacy Court (Corte di Cassazione) in Plenary Session, may have contributed to diminishing bribery in Italy, by increasing the area of liability for both civil servants and the public administration. The empirical analysis is based on a case study conducted in Sicily, in the province of Catania, using a unique data set. The main results of the article are: paying bureaucrats by means of an incentive wage regimes may not be effective in reducing corruption; an extension of the liability rule for the public administration and civil servants may discourage the phenomenon of bribery; and, the perfect specification of property rights helps to reduce corruption.The aim of this article is to verify whether the historic sentence, no. 500/1999 of the Italian Legitimacy Court (Corte di Cassazione) in Plenary Session, may have contributed to diminishing bribery in Italy, by increasing the area of liability for both civil servants and the public administration. The empirical analysis is based on a case study conducted in Sicily, in the province of Catania, using a unique data set. The main results of the article are: paying bureaucrats by means of an incentive wage regimes may not be effective in reducing corruption; an extension of the liability rule for the public administration and civil servants may discourage the phenomenon of bribery; and, the perfect specification of property rights helps to reduce corruption.

The international strengthening of IPR and air pollution abatement: the role of the TRIPs agreement

AbstractThis paper comes in the wake of the literature considering technological progress as the main device to offset air pollution caused by economic activity. The issue has been extensively studied in general, but there is no previous research on the effects that an international strengthening of legal protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) due to the Uruguay Round Agreement and the Annex on Trade-Related aspects of the IPR (TRIPs, for short), underwritten in 1994, may have had on worldwide emissions, as a result of the discovery of new or more efficient air pollution abatement technologies. Different econometric models are used to give a quantitative measure of the TRIPs agreement to reduce air pollution. In particular, the impact of the TRIPs is addressed using a dummy variable and the index of Ginarte and Park (Ginarte, Park 1997) that is one of the more commonly used indicators of TRIPs enforcement employed in economic literature. The findings of this research partially support the idea t...

Agriculture and local governance in Mexico: the Michoacàn case

Abstract The opening of trade barriers in Mexico caused a significant growth of important economic indicators such as GDP and exports. This positive trend is not however quite generalized, because the resulting economic benefits were not widespread perceived as by whole population. The process of economic integration caused a crisis for the agricultural sector with no precedent in Mexican history, depressing some of the traditional productive sectors. This study reports the results of a search on agriculture of Michoacan, carried out with a “participatory approach”, and analyze the effects perceived from smallholders and local institutional after the introduction of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).