Massimiliano Agovino

Separate waste collection in Italy: the role of socio-cultural factors and targets set by law

Abstract The aim of this paper was twofold: on the one hand, we analyse the results achieved in terms of percentages of separate collection in Italy by testing the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in improving the separate collection process; and on the other hand, we investigate on some of the factors, related to the sociocultural local context, that could explain the different impacts of the law in the three macro-areas considered (North, Central and South Italy). To this purpose, an econometric analysis on the Italian regions for the 1996–2013 period is performed, comparing the period before (1996–2006) and after (2006–2013) the date of entry into force of the new law. The results show the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting separate collection, although a regional difference in terms of separate collection rate is observed. Northern regions proved to be more dynamic and reactive to the above-mentioned legislation, while Central and especially Southern regions achieved poorer results in moving to higher separate waste collection rates. Finally, our work provides evidence on some local factors that may have hampered an effective policy implementation in Southern regions, among them, the presence of criminal activities and the lack of citizen participation in politics.

Civilian Disability Pensions as an Antipoverty Policy Instrument? A Spatial Analysis of Italian Provinces, 2003–2005

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether civilian disability pensions have been used as an antipoverty measure in Italy. We applied a two-step analysis to Italian provincial data for the years 2003–2005. We implemented a classic panel analysis, followed by a two-step GMM (Generalised Method of Moments) analysis in which we introduced the spatial variable. The analysis shows that the number of civilian disability pensions is not related to disabling disease, but it is related to the unemployment rate in some areas and to the rate of poverty everywhere. These results robustly hold when the spatially lagged dependent variable is introduced among the regressors. The spatial variable allows us to take into account the local dimension and the possible social, historical, and cultural links among provinces that go beyond administrative boundaries. In discussing the results, we stress that the figures reflect the number of civilian disability pensions granted, not those requested. Moreover, the national legislation on the attribution of civilian disability pensions is administered locally; therefore, its application may reflect degrees of discretionary interpretation. We propose that there is room to interpret the use of civilian disability pensions as an antipoverty policy instrument in areas characterised by economic difficulties. However, we suggest that civilian disability pensions are particularly unsuited to play the role of an assistance policy instrument; once granted, they are seldom withdrawn despite possible changes in the financial situation of the recipient.

The Dynamics of Disability and Labour Force Participation in Italy

This paper investigates the effect of disability on labour force participation in Italy. Using information on limitations to daily activities, we apply a dynamic probit model accounting for state dependence and endogenous initial conditions to the longitudinal section of the 2004–2007 IT-SILC data. We find a significant and negative impact on current disability status that increases in seriousness (from 6.5 % to 10.7 %) in the case of labour force participation. Additionally, past disability status decreases the probability of current employment. Moreover, we find evidence that labour market participation is negatively affected by persistence in disability status (from 12.4 % to 28.1 % according to the seriousness of the limitations) and by the onset of disability (from 6.9 % to 11.3 %). Furthermore, we find that observable factors have a standard effect on labour market participation. Finally, we find evidence of true state dependence and endogenous initial conditions.

Creative Workforce and Economic Development in Precrisis Europe: Main Trends and Causality Relationships

Building on work funded by the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network 2013 Program, the article analyzes the regional development of the “creative workforce” among its active population against regional economic growth measured by changes in per capita gross domestic product over the period 2001 to 2008. The analysis establishes regional typologies in this relationship according to the “sense” and evolution of this association, allowing a critical evaluation of processes and policies that may explain the large degree of spatial variation encountered, and addresses the issue of causal relationships between these two dimensions, suggesting the need to rethink development policies based on “creative capital.”

Institutional quality effects on separate waste collection: some evidence from Italian provinces

Separate waste collection in Italy comes under the responsibility of local authorities, provinces, while national laws set quantitative targets to be achieved over time. Overall, just a few provinces have reached the thresholds set by the latest law (Legislative Decree 152/2006) and some territorial differentiation has been detected. The aim of this paper is twofold: to verify the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 in promoting higher levels of separate collection and to test whether institutional quality (considering the following indicators: voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption) affects provinces’ efficiency in the separate collection process. For this purpose, we implement the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Results suggest that the effectiveness of Legislative Decree 152/2006 has been affected by provinces’ institutional quality. In particular, the presence of institutional constraints did not allow the most virtuous provinces to achieve the targets set by law.

Policy efficiency in the field of food sustainability. The adjusted food agriculture and nutrition index

This work introduces a revised version of the Food Sustainability Index, proposed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition in 2016. Our Adjusted Food Sustainability Index features two important advantages: 1) it employs the Mazziotta-Pareto method to compute weights, hence granting an objective aggregation criterion and 2) it does not take policy variables into account, thus focusing on the status quo. The policy variables are aggregated into the Policy Index, measuring the quality of the food sustainability policies. We compute the two indices for 25 countries worldwide, then we use the Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate policy efficiency. Our results show that country-level variation in policy efficiency is wide and policies affect food sustainability significantly, especially when they target nutritional challenges.

Urban Environmental Quality and Sustainable Food Sourcing: A Spatial Approach Using Italian Provincial Data

Environmental pollution affects human health and well-being, not only directly, but also indirectly due to its effects on food safety and urban and peri-urban agriculture. Proper indicators of urban environmental quality could improve the measurement of the health and well-being component of the Human Development Index. In this paper, by using the Legambiente Index and the Local Moran Transition Probability Matrix, we assess and compare the performance of Italian provinces’ in providing urban environmental quality. Results show a persistent dualism between Northern and Southern Italy and the absence of positive environmental spillover among neighboring provinces. In Southern Italy, policymakers should focus more on improving sustainable food sourcing for a more sustainable and resilient urban development.

Exploring additional determinants of fixed broadband adoption: policy implications for narrowing the broadband demand gap

ABSTRACT Using data from the survey ‘Aspects of daily life’ conducted on Italian individuals in 2014 by the Italian Institute of Statistics, we propose new evidence on the factors that encourage the adoption of fixed broadband, a topic relevant for the reduction of the so-called broadband demand gap. We estimate a probit model through the two-step Heckman procedure for the selection bias, and find that, besides the already studied socio-demographic determinants, Internet-capable devices other than personal computers, as well as recreational (essentially video contents) and cloud-related uses of the Internet, have a relevant positive role. Policies aimed at fostering the diffusion of smart homes and more generally of the Internet of things at the residential level might be very effective in favouring fixed broadband adoption, provided that the network be neutral, not discriminating between data based on their contents and/or the destination device, and that possible foreclosing behaviours in the access to (premium) contents be properly and promptly addressed.

Evaluating waste collection management: the case of macro-areas and municipalities in Italy

The purpose of the present paper is to analyse the gap among Italian macro-areas performances in terms of separate waste collection rate and density of separate waste collection. The aim is twofold: (1) to investigate if clear and effective infrastructure policies, in Southern Italy, have been realized that are able to reduce the gap in the separate waste collection process with the rest of Italy and (2) to evaluate if Southern Italian municipalities have improved their operational capacity in the separate waste collection process. In particular, we exploit data collected in 2012 by several Italian sources (ISPRA and ISTAT). We implement a recentered influence function regression technique that allows us to put two macro-areas in comparison (North vs. South and Centre vs. South). This technique, once measured the territorial gaps, allows to disentangle the gap in the two spatial units of analysis (at municipalities level and at macro-areas level). The estimates suggest that while in the North the issue of waste is managed effectively and responsibly with respect to the Southern area, the latter has exhibited an advantage with respect to the Central Italy; furthermore, Southern municipalities appear to be unable to pursue a virtuous waste management system generating the persistence of a marked territorial gap in terms of both SCR and DSC. The main policy implications are discussed.

Estimating food waste under the FUSIONS definition: What are the driving factors of food waste in the Italian provinces?

Following the definition provided by the EU-funded FUSIONS project (food use for social innovation by optimising waste prevention strategies), this work estimates food waste at the provincial level (NUTS-3) in Italy, using official records on separate waste collection over the 2004–2014 time span. Moreover, it sheds some light on how economic and socio-demographic characteristics affect food waste levels and composition. We run a fixed effects panel regression taking into account a number of socio-economic factors. Our results show that food waste is positively affected by population density and consumption levels, while it is negatively affected by the share of women, elderly people, immigrants and unemployed in the population. We also analyse the components of food waste—the one resulting from unsorted waste and the one resulting from separated collection—and we show how they are affected by socio-economic drivers. Overall, our analysis highlights the role of consumption levels. Locally targeted awareness campaigns aiming to reduce food consumption need to be devised in order to tackle the food waste challenge.